That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
by CrazyBunni
Summary: Clara Inari has entered the world of Yosen High, home of the famous basketball team and other athletic clubs. On her first day her baked goods have caught the eye of the giant Atsushi Murasakibara and is now being harassed into making more! Will Clara survive her encounter from a bottomless pit snack eater?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! Yes, I have started another new story, I have gotten into Kuroko's Basketball recently and I could NOT get Atsushi Murasakibara out of my mind, maybe it's because he is voiced by Ken'ichi Suzumura... or maybe his childish personality got a hold of me... anyways! I hope you enjoy the new story!

I am working Chapter 7 of "A Short Range Encounter" as well as Chapter 3 of "Entering in the Big Leagues" just have a little more patience... if those who originally started reading those stories are still reading them... Anyways! Again, please enjoy!

~!~

Even though the sun was up it was still a chilly morning near Yōsen High. Students started to gather near the fence entrance, a few people chatted away with friends, or to teachers who were arriving.

"This place… is huge…" Squeaked a tiny voice. A girl in her mid teens walked towards the gate, looking around at the student body on the other side of the iron fence. Clara Inari gulped heavily as she held back some of her blond hair that decided to make it's way to her face, she groaned as she quickly tied it in a messy pony tail while she passed the gates and onto her school's property. As soon as she stepped past, her nerves got the better of her and she started to walk a little awkwardly. "Coming to a new school is scary… I don't know any one here…" She whimpered to herself as she felt her green eyes stinging slightly from unshed tears. "No! I will not cry!" She made a fist bump as she spoke to herself like a crazy person. "As soon as I join the volleyball team, I will make friends easily." She said with determination in her voice causing some students to point and giggle at her, she gasped and continued to walk trying to ignore the giggles.

As she walked, Clara noticed some girls' chit chatting and giggling as they stared off towards the bench area that lay under some trees. Clara's curiosity got the better of her as she looked around them and saw several boys sitting on a bench, she blushed gently as she noticed every one of them were pretty good looking and rather tall for being high schoolers. She noticed one boy had a part of his face covered with his own black hair, she also noticed he had a mole under his right eye which made him stand out a little more than the others. She soon finished walking past the giggling girls and made her way towards the entrance of the school, suddenly a foreign low grumbled sound reached her ears making her blush heavily.

"Ahhh I am hungry… I was so nervous about school I didn't eat breakfast…" Than her frown turned into a bright smile as she went into her backpack and took out a little clear bag that held a few cookies. "Good thing I brought my 'home made super-duper-lucky-chocolate-chip cookies!" She giggled as she untied the little bag, as she ate her stomach started to settle. "Mmmm…" Clara started to feel a whole lot better than when she first arrived, she continued to eat and as she was about to take another a rather large hand appeared out of nowhere and snatched up her last bit of cookies.

Clara gapped as she watched her poor little cookie heading towards a giant's mouth. Clara's world seemed to go in slow motion as she imagined her little cookie screaming for Clara to save it but soon her cookie fell into the dark abyss. Tears formed and in a fit of rage she stood up yelling. "Hey! What's the big idea, huh?!" She pouted as she stared up at the man, not noticing he was well over 6 feet tall, she didn't care that he looked down at her with sparkly eyes. "That was my 'super-duper-lucky-chocolate-chip cookie! That was supposed to get me through…"

"…More?" A soft, bored child like voice sprung from his lips as he stared down at Clara.

Clara was snapped out of her rage rant as she stared up at the man, surprised by his voice. "Any more?" She blinked in confusion as she finally saw his eyes sparkling. Clara's mouth hung open. "Huuhhh?"

"Do you have any more of those cookies?" He asked again as he stared down at her, even though he had a bored look upon his face, his eyes were filled with hunger.

Clara pouted. "No, you ate the last one!"

"Hmmmm? Where did you buy them?" Clara still had a confused look on her face, she stared up at the guy like he was crazy and soon she started to notice this guy's height, she almost felt intimidated but she kept face, soon the giant started to look annoyed, with an agitated voice he looked off towards the gate. "There is still time to buy them before first bell, so where did you buy them?"

It soon clicked in what this guy was talking about but Clara was still upset as she turned her back on him and started to walk away while shouting, "Well sorry to burst your bubble bub, but those were home made!" She soon started to run off to find the office to get her new schedule, not caring that violet eyes were watching her retreating form.

~!~

Clara saw she had homeroom for her first period, she sighed in relief sometimes she needed extra time to finish her homework or at least fix it if she saw anything wrong with any of her answers, she looked up and saw her classroom, she knocked on the door to which the teacher appeared and he smacked his head as if he just recovered a lost memory.

"Oh, that's right…" He turned his attention back to his students and raised his voice. "Everyone we have a new student, she has come from Hokkaidō, so she is far from home, please be nice." The students went into an uproar, Clara could hear several of them wondering if she was a boy or a girl, or if she was cute or not.

Clara braced her self as she came in while the teacher started to write her name on the board. "Nice to meet you…I'm Clara Inari." She bowed, several of the students greeted back while others continued to talk about Clara, some guys were disappointed while others called her cute. Clara looked back up when the teacher pointed towards the back.

"There is a seat available between Mr. Tatsuya Himuro and Mr. Atsushi Murasakibara." Clara followed where the teacher was pointing, but before her eyes could lay on her empty seat she winced when she recognized the very giant that stole her precious cookies, he sat near the back row, right by the window. He looked even more bored than ever, Clara couldn't help but cry on the inside as she once again remembered how that monster ate her lucky cookies, and to make matters worse now she had to sit next to the big brute. Clara turned to ask if she could have another seat but the teacher turned his back to start going through the schedule. Defeated, Clara reluctantly dragged her feet as she slowly made her way towards the back of the classroom, trying not to get this Himuro… or was it Murasakibara…? Whatever his name is, she didn't want to get his attention but Clara suddenly found herself kissing the floor.

Soon the students went into an uproar with laughter as they saw Clara trip. "Oh how embarrassing!" One student cried out through his laughter.

"Still kind of cute." One boy snickered while a girl made a shrill laugh. "Oh! And right in front of Murasakibara and Himuro!"

Clara went to her knees as she covered her face with her left hand to check to see if she was bleeding. "Ow…" She sniffled, to her relief she wasn't bleeding, than she soon saw a hand in front of her that offered to help her up, which she took gently. "Thank…"

"Sorrrryyyy…. Ahhh Cookie…?" Clara froze in place, that… voice… it can't be… she didn't even get the chance to finish her thought when she finished looking up. Her face paled slightly when she saw it was Murasakibara who was trying to help her up, or was it Himuro…? She shook her name guessing thoughts from her head as a new thought crossed her mind… he called her Cookie… suddenly as she finally took noticed she still held on to his… huge ass hand! She pulled her hand away as she stood up quickly, she looked back at him again to which she noticed his purplish hair dangled in front of his eyes, his bored yet sparkling violet eyes, she felt like she could get lost...

"Miss Inari please take your seat so we can begin homeroom…" The teacher called out making Clara blush even harder as several students chuckled again; she quickly sat down in her chair finally. Clara sighed as she tried to put what just happened in the past as she took out her notebook, as she bent over to dig her notebook out of her bag. Something than caught Clara's attention, she looked over and suddenly figured out what she tripped on; sure enough it was the giant's fault, his long legs extended even past his neighbor's desk. Clara bit her lip to keep from yelling at the big lummox as she listened to her teacher, trying to forget about what just happened and started to take notes on what she is going to be doing that day.

Clara took a deep breath and started to relax more as she continued to write in her notebook.

"Psst… Cookie?" A droll voice muttered. Clara at first didn't hear the voice but after the next several time the voice started to become an annoyance. "Cookie…?" Soon she had to focus on just trying to ignore the voice, she looked up at her teacher as her grip on her pencil started to strain. "Cookie… oi?" The pestering went on for another minute until finally Clara's pencil snapped in two as she turned her attention to the bane of her existence, whose hair covered face was inches away from her own face.

It took every ounce of self-control she had in her body to not scream in shock, but she thankfully smacked a hand over her mouth before anything went past her lips.

"What do you want?" Clara whispered. "I am trying to concentrate…and 'Cookie' isn't my name…" As Clara whispered she turned to dig through her backpack to get a pen, since her pencil was now broken. Once Clara found one, it didn't take long as it too broke in her hand from the sudden demand that escaped the purple haired man's lips.

"I want more of those cookies you baked…" Clara snapped her attention back to him, she winced when she saw how serious he was, actually, his serious face made him look like a child pouting for more treats, Clara felt like she was getting hit by little sparkles that came out of his eyes. Clara couldn't help but feel heat rising into her cheeks as she turned away from him.

'Cute…he is freaking adorable…' Clara admitted to herself, she had to put her hand to her chest in hopes to stop her rapidly beating heart from pounding so harshly.

"Are you listening? Oi… Cookie?" Clara could feel a vein ready to pop. She snapped her attention back up at the ass.

"I will think about it, IF you stop calling me Cookie…It's Clara Inari…" She spat out her name.

"Huh? This Attitude you have..." The brute reached over to pinch Clara's cheek, she winced slightly from the dull pain as she looked back into his purple eyes, Clara felt herself starting to shake slightly as he stared at her with a serious and dangerous look, what was more chilling was his voice. "…Makes me want to crush you…" Clara felt the color drain from her face but before either could say or do anything more, they both winced as two pieces of chalk smacked them in the head, which led to the release of Clara's cheek.

"OI! Murasakibara! Inari! Pay attention!"

~!~

Clara dashed out of the classroom as soon as the teacher announced it was time to break for lunch, she wanted to get as far away as possible from Murasakibara, her vein continued to throb from her temple as she stomped through the hallways. For five hours all she heard was Murasakibara asking for more of the cookies she baked. Any chance he got he asked again and again and no matter now many times she said she didn't have any more he became more persistent in her baking them for him.

 _'Like hell I will bake him anything… first he ate the cookies I brought, than he got me in trouble with the teacher and I could barely write any notes during my lectures, and it's only my_ _ **FIRST**_ _day! I swear he is nothing but bad… luck…'_ Clara gasped as she suddenly leaned against the hallway wall in defeat. Clara seemed to sink deeper into depression. _'Spider…'_

Clara had a flash back to that very morning, as she left her apartment… she killed a spider that suddenly appeared in front of her face.

 _'That's right… I killed a spider this morning… Is that why I am having such horrible luck?!'_ She cried to herself as she walked off like a zombie toward the cafeteria. "Why me?" She finally spoke out but softly as she felt like she was ready to cry.

Just as she was about to turn to the cafeteria hall, a hand was suddenly holding her back from entering. "What the?" She looked up and squeaked. She broke away from Murasakibara's grasp. "Why?! Why are you following me?!" She yelled out. "Something is wrong with you! Do you seriously need to have my baked goods that badly?!"

Murasakibara stared absentmindedly at Clara as she continued her rant but after another moment he couldn't take it anymore. His own vein on his head started to throb as he laid his huge hand on her head again. "Shut up already…your voice is annoying like that!"

Clara squeaked as she tensed under his hand, which surprisingly wasn't a very strong grip.

"If you just be quite for a moment…." He complained loudly like a child as he picked his ear with his pinky, he than looked down at her again with annoyed yet bored look. "Bring those cookies for me I will leave you alone!" His voice sounded annoyed as he finally let go of Clara's head. "Your cookies are seriously a lot better than most store bought…" Clara blinked at Murasakibara's confession about her cookies; she clenched her teeth and looked away.

Clara felt her head inflate with pride from his complements; she knew her cookies were good, she learned from the best. An image of her grandmother came to mind and her kind words. Clara sighed as she looked up at Murasakibara.

"Fine… I will bring what I have left tomorrow, okay?" She turned around to head into the cafeteria.

"Thank you."

Clara stopped dead in her tracks, she turned around and saw Murasakibara giving her a warm smile, and he even turned around humming slightly now that he won the battle of the promise of getting his desired goods.

Clara felt weak in the knees as she watched the giant walk off. "Wha…what was that?" She blushed heavily as she began to tap her chest. "Stop beating so fast you stupid heart…" She couldn't take it anymore and just went to have lunch by herself.

~!~

Murasakibara returned to the classroom where Tatsuya was waiting for him.

"Ah Atsushi, your back, where did you go?" Tatsuya took a bite from a protein bar before gulping some water down. "You suddenly disappeared right as lunch started."

"I had to do something…" As soon as Murasakibara sat down several girls came over, all blushing and giggling.

"Murasakibara… please accept this!" One girl cried out, as well as the other girls who were side by side with her, they all had cute little bags with some graphic art on them, soon they held them out towards Murasakibara.

"I baked a cake in home economics today..."

"And I baked cookies…"

"I brought your favorite chips!" One girl tried to outstay the others, to which she received some death glares from her female classmates but she didn't noticed as she and other held out their gifts.

Murasakibara stared at all the girls, who were blushing madly as they waited for Murasakibara's answer but of course when it came to snacks he couldn't help himself, he accepted all the gifts without hesitation. The girls left with a sigh of relief mixed in with some giggles as they all talked about what just happened. Murasakibara wasn't the only one to receive some gifts even Tatsuya also received some treats.

"Your popular as ever…Atsushi." Tatsuya chuckled as he saw how much his teammate's eyes sparkled.

Murasakibara saw that he not only got the baked goods, but also some potechi tops (his favorite bag of chips), pocky and even Maiu-bo. He began to eat his favorite chips first and once they were done he moved on to the Maiu-bo and than to the baked goods, leaving the pocky to snack on during classes.

As he bit into the first cookie he immediately stopped, his face twisting into dissatisfaction.

Tatsuya blinked as he saw the expression. "Atsushi? What is it?"

Murasakibara grumbled as he cried out like a child throwing a tantrum. "Why are they hard as a rock? And they're salty… This one is burnt..." He pouted like a child as he complained; after he couldn't take it anymore he went straight to eating his lunch he originally brought, leaving Tatsuya confused.

Tatsuya also received some cookies from the same girl and took another bite out of a cookie. "What are you talking about? They're pretty damn good if you ask me…" Tatsuya finished the last one as he took a swig of his water again.

Murasakibara ignored Tatsuya's opinion on the cookies as he stared out the window, still pouting as he thought back to this morning's events.

Atsushi Murasakibara yawned loudly while scratching his head; he wasn't looking forward to today. After he was done with classes he had basketball practice, that was something he didn't want to do but Tatsuya insisted like always. As Murasakibara passed the gate he noticed Tatsuya waving him over by the resting area, along with the other basketball players. Just as Murasakibara took a step in that direction his nose picked up a scent, something sweet and delicious. He turned his body towards the aroma and followed it; he passed a few students he looked like a bloodhound following a wanted criminal. Soon he found himself by the shrubbery with a tall concrete curb as he stepped closer he started to notice a girl was sitting down, her back was turned to him and that was when Murasakibara noticed she took a bite out of a cookie, the source of the delicious smell. Murasakibara felt his hunger raising by the second as he watched her eat those cookies, his eyes seemed to analyze, they were a good circular shape with what seemed the right amount of chocolate ship which was a lot from what he could see. The though of eating one of those cookies started to make Murasakibara's mouth water. He honestly couldn't take it any more, his hunger for snacks got the better of him as he reached down and took the remaining cookies. He ignored the pissed off cries of the girl or he couldn't hear her at all When he took that first bite. Murasakibara thought his mouth went to heaven, he tasted not only the right amount of sweetness but the middle was soft, it was so easy to chew but it was crunchy around the edges giving it more texture and a slight punch to his taste buds making his sweet tooth tingle and in turn made his mouth water. He never ate something so scrumptious, not since his grandmother's own baking. He went to take another bite but he noticed he has already eaten the ones he has taken. It wasn't enough; he wanted... no needed more. He looked down at the clearly pissed of girl and started to ask for more.

Coming back to the present Murasakibara licked his fingers after eating some pocky but it didn't help quench his thirst for more of those cookies though. There was some movement that caught his eye, he looked down into the court yard and noticed the very baker who made those heavenly crafted cookies, sitting outside by herself eating her lunch she got from the cafeteria, his pouting face turned into a devious smile as he suddenly felt antsy, he wanted to taste those cookies again, badly.

And under his breath he muttered. "I hate waiting…"


	2. Chapter 2

The final bell of the day chimed what seemed extra loud and extra welcoming. The students cheered as they got up to stretch or to run out to go straight to their club activities or to just go home after a long hard day of classes. Few students took their time into gathering their things or they stayed behind to talk with friends.

"Alright everyone! Remember to do your homework and come back safely tomorrow!" Yelled the teacher in Clara's class just as the students got up to leave. Clara waited behind from the other students as she wrote down extra notes. Clara had to make sure she got everything down from the lectures, she even double check all she had to do because was heading towards the Volleyball club after school, so she was going to be running home late.

"Inari." Clara snapped her attention to the teacher when he came over to her. "I have to leave, do you mind staying and erasing the chalk board for me?"

Clara smiled and got up. "That's not a problem!" She took the chalkboard easer and headed to the long board and began to swipe. As she did her little chore she thought back to her notes that she was writing down. "I can pick up some food on the way home…" She mumbled to herself as she continued to swipe the board. She stopped for a moment to pat the chalk dust from the easer before it started to smudge the board. Once 'cleaned' she went back to the board. Again mumbling to herself, "Than after that I can go home, do my homework… maybe run some small drills before bed.." She nodded with a smile as she got everything planned out. She looked up and saw she missed the top part of the board and tried to reach.

"Curse my height…" Even though Clara was a 5'4" in height she was still short for the chalk board, she went on her tippy toes and started to swat widely around, even starting to jump up and down to reach. She blinked. "Hey…" Soon she started to do squat jumps and it worked!

"I can clean and work out for practice!" She laughed as she continued what she was doing, not realizing she had an audience.

"OI Cookie!" The voice seemed to appear out of nowhere to Clara as she screamed in mid jump, the sudden scare made her lose her balance and thus making her fall to the ground. Clara's hand is seen behind the desk, shaking as it slammed down to help support her as she gets up, she glares at Murasakibara who stared down at her with an annoyed look.

"You must really want me to crush you… been calling out to you for the past few minutes…" He made a 'tsh' sound with his teeth as he stared at Clara. Clara turned toward the blackboard, showing her back to Murasakibara, whimpered on the inside. To her she had the worst day she could think of. This… this… giant lummox! Pestered her practically the entire day and when she thought she had a moment of peace THERE he was!

 _'Where's the cookies, where's the cookies?!_ _ **WHERE IS. THE. FREAKING. COOKIES?!**_ _'_ Clara screamed in her head as she became more and more agitated. _'Does this guy seriously have nothing else on the brain besides snacks?'_ She sighed and turned back, still pissed off.

"I told you Murasakibara… I will be bringing them tomorrow… so please… show some patience…" Clara said with a bit of a bite in her words. But her anger seemed to quench slightly when her other desk neighbor, Himuro Tatsuya appeared on the other side of Murasakibara, she blushed gently.

"Atsushi, come on it's time for practice…" Tatsuya than got a slight glare from Murasakibara.

"I am skipping today…" He stated glaring down at his classmate before turning his attention back to Clara, which made her jump slightly at how fast his mood could change.

 _'He is like a woman on her period…'_ She squeaked slightly when Murasakibara got to her eye level as he stared at her directly in the eyes.

"It's after school, go and get those cookies and bring them back here." Murasakibara sounded pretty demanding, which made Clara snap out of her intimidated state.

"Huuhhh? What was that?" She rolled her words out slowly as she spoke in a low and dummy tone, which made Murasakibara a little ticked off. Tatsuya felt like he was a ghost, someone who didn't exist as the two students argued in front of him. Clara sighed loudly. "I have told you, again and a again! You have to wait until tomorrow!" She snapped at him as she went back to cleaning the board. "I have to go to the volleyball club, because you know, I want to have a life after school…" Once she was done cleaning the board she went ahead and wiped it down with water as well to really get it cleaned off.

"But I want cookies now!" Clara heard his whining and almost didn't want to look back because she knew his childlike tantrums were somewhat adorable in her eyes but it was too late as she turned and saw how much he was pouting, his cheeks were puffed up with his lips looking like a fish. Clara couldn't hold back her laughter anymore as she started to actually laugh.

Murasakibara pouted even further from Clara's laughter, he even reached out to take a hold of her head but even than she didn't stop laughing. "You are such a kid…" She continued to laugh until she suddenly saw the clock on the wall and screeched. "I am late for practice!" She got herself away from Murasakibara's grip, quickly packed her things and dashed out of the classroom.

Tatsuya and Murasakibara watched as Clara left in a state of panic.

Tatsuya saw something glittering in the corner of his eye, he looked down on the ground, "Oh, she dropped something." He leaned down and picked up what looked like a necklace, it didn't look expensive but it was pretty, at least Tatsuya thought so. It was an owl shape pendent with its wing extended out. Suddenly Murasakibara who had a devious grin on his face snatched the necklace from his hand.

~!~

Clara frowned as she left the gymnasium. She sighed heavily as she looked back at the girls practicing. Apparently they had enough girls on the team that they didn't need another player; they didn't even try to consider her, not even for a back up. Clara felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. "Today… is just not my day…" She wiped a tear away as she sat down at a bench sighing heavily. She wiped another tear away but the pain of rejection and loneliness soon became too much as she covered her hands with her face.

"This…sucks…" Clara didn't have family or friends anywhere near where she lived, her mother, a single parent couldn't move with her because of work, so Clara decided to live by herself in a cheap studio apartment. Clara hated to be alone and going home to an empty apartment sent chills of loneliness down her spine. Her joining the volleyball team would have help because she could have made friends on the team. Clara certainly didn't have to move so far away from home, she could have attended a high school where she lived before but Yōsen was one of the best places to go for a good education that led to a chance to accomplish her dream. She gasped out a sob as more tears drip down her face, she was grateful that everyone was gone, she looked horrible as she cried.

"Oi! Cookie!" Clara gasped as she heard the voice of the last person she wanted to see her crying.

She coughs heavily to stop her crying. Her cracked against her will. "What?" She sniffled. "What do you want?" She got up from where she was sitting. "Come to ask for more? Well I told you how many times…" She turned around to face Murasakibara after wiping her tears away, but her cheeks where puffy and red from crying just a moment ago. "I can't give them to you until tomorrow… so please…" She felt warm tears running down her cheek again as she realized she was still crying, she gasped and stepped away as she wipe her tears away.

Than she heard a little chink of metal and she looked to Murasakibara and saw her precious necklace. "That's… but…" She looked into her bag and noticed it had a hole in it. She gasped as she looked at the necklace and slowly reached out, Murasakibara stood there silently as Clara gently took back her necklace and clutched it to her chest.

After what seemed like forever Clara sighed heavily and spoke out gently.

"Thank you…Murasakibara..." She looked up at Murasakibara and smiled warmly for the first time. "You don't know how much this necklace means to me…" She had it off in case it for confiscated by the school. She sniffled as she tried to hook the necklace around her neck.

~!~

Moments earlier.

Murasakibara smirked as he thought of a plan to blackmail the girl into giving him the treats he desired, he noticed through out the day she had been looking at the necklace any chance she got during school so he knew it held some kind of meaning in her heart, probably a gift from a boyfriend. Murasakibara snickered as he thought of the mountain of cookies he was going to get from this girl.

He went to the gymnasium and peered inside and noticed the girl volleyball team was still at practice he scanned every girl and noticed the one he was looking for wasn't in there. He blinked; he thought she said volleyball, didn't she? He turned to leave the building when he heard voices talking around the corner.

"But… please! Let me try out, you will see that I am pretty decent!" Murasakibara stayed hidden around the corner, which was a feat in itself because of his height, he recognized Cookie's voice as he peered around the corner and saw her and the coach of the team talking almost loudly.

"I am sorry but we have a full roster, even if I do let you on the team there's probably a chance you won't get to play." The coach said discouragingly but Clara wasn't giving up.

"That is fine, I will work hard enough to make you see that you can put me in the game! Please… give me a chance!"

The coach looked like he was about to consider Clara to joining the team but in the end he was still adamant in his choice, he shook his head no. "Sorry but I am not going to add another member, I already have a lot of girls who I have to coach already."

Murasakibara felt slightly annoyed at the coach, his attention soon went back to Clara as she stared after the coach as he left to return to the gym. Clara had devastation written all over her face, she didn't move until the coach was truly out of sight, Murasakibara figured she thought he would cave in and tell her she could in fact join but when he didn't, Clara turned in the opposite direction and walked out of the building. Murasakibara followed after her and watched the events unfold in front of him. She was talking to herself as she cried pathetically, he hated how she was crying, he hated how hard she tried to get on the team, and look where it got her, what was the point? Murasakibara ignored a familiar feeling he had felt month ago before he couldn't take it anymore of her crying and walked over to her.

"Oi! Cookie!" Murasakibara watched as Clara jumped and tried to cover up the fact that she was crying but when she turned around, Murasakibara felt a little pain in his chest as he stared at her defeated face, it reminded him of that time with Tatsuya and the game between Yōsen and Seirin. The anger, the desperation and the hurt in her eyes made him waver in his blackmailing scheme. He sighed internally and held out the necklace. When Clara saw the piece of jewelry she suddenly brighten up, like this turned her shitty day into the best day ever. Murasakibara felt a twinge in his chest as she smiled brightly, with sparkling eyes of her own.

What really threw him off was the gratitude she showed. "Thank you…Murasakibara..." Her soft voice made the giant man nearly blush, nearly. "You don't know how much this necklace means to me…" Murasakibara noticed she was having trouble hooking the necklace because of her shaking hands, so he stepped forward and brushed her hands away and clasped the necklace around her neck himself. He stepped back and stared down at her.

"You owe me…" He pointed out and turned to leave.

~!~

"What… just happened?" It seemed that is all Clara could even think to herself about after that moment with Murasakibara, she has literally asked that same question to herself almost as many times Murasakibara pestered her about the cookies. Clara would even stop at some moments lean against a wall or a fence as memories of what happened flooded into her mind. She could still feel the warmth of Murasakibara's hands behind her neck where he helped clasp her necklace. Clara reached back and touched where the warmth was coming from, heat rose to her cheeks as she thought how nice he smelled, she tensed up. "Ugh… this is not good for my heart…"

After a few more blocks Clara looked down at the pendent and sighed as his voice from earlier rang in her head like an annoying bell.

 _'You owe me…'_

Clara sighed slightly. "I do owe him…" She looked down at the bags she carried and they were not only filled with food she was going to use for the next two weeks but also baking supplies, more sugar, flour you named it. She finally made it home and began preparing the dough.

Clara already had enough chocolate chip cookies to take to Murasakibara tomorrow but she decided to make another kind of cookie to show her own gratitude for finding her necklace and it was a recipe that her mother taught her. "Let's see… 3/4 cup of butter… sugar…." She named off the ingredients as she put them in their respective bowls before finally putting the solids in with the liquids.

The dough became too tough to stir with the spoon alone anymore and so with clean hands Clara dove her hands in to mix the dough together. Once she was done she washed her hands again to get rid of any residue before putting the dough in the fridge to thicken a bit. "Next will be adding the toffee bits after some chilling…" She set the timer for an hour and she took that time to make her dinner and doing some homework. Clara got her English assignment done as well as some math. Clara sighed as she stretched her arms in the air as she yawned. "Awww man…" She cracked her neck.

Soon an alarm rang out causing Clara to look towards the kitchen before getting up to serve herself a bowl of stew and noodles. She sighed in relaxation as the warmth of the stew calmed her down more. She took another bite but suddenly started to choke on her food when she suddenly remembered the warmth that remained on the back of her neck.

"GAHHH! Get out of my head!" She shouted into the night, causing some cats to scream in fright.

~!~

Clara had a nice size bag in her hands, not only did it have the chocolate chip cookies she baked a few days ago but also the new ones she baked last night, she looked down at the bag with pride. Clara always felt good when she baked cookies because it reminded her the love her grandmother and mother passed on to her when they baked and some good techniques as well. Clara giggled as she remembered something her grandmother told her once.

 _'Clara, anyone can cook and bake, anyone can make cookies, but when you put your heart and soul into it, they come out so much sweeter. And that applies to anything you do in life. Always work hard! Don't ever give up.'_

Clara smiles warmly as she gave thanks to her grandmother in her thoughts, who was resting peacefully, or at least that's what Clara's mother thinks she should be doing and not terrorizing her senior citizen home. Clara snickered at how her grandmother is probably running the home right at this moment. Clara laughed again to herself as she remembered her mother saying how much Clara was like her grandmother. Clara at that moment decided to see her grandmother sometime, maybe on the weekend.

Tatsuya who was sitting in the same spot he sat down in yesterday waved Clara down. Clara realized that the boys she saw yesterday morning were in fact Tatsuya and the basketball team, they usually waited for each other in the same spot to discuss about practice before the day started, or just to talk in general. Clara noticed right away that Murasakibara hasn't arrived yet; she scoffed to herself as she thought you had to be completely blind in order to miss the big guy. Clara actually thought Murasakibara would have show up to school at the break of dawn to wait for her, considering from how much he was demanding (begging), but she shrugged her shoulders and made her way over to the team.

"Good morning." She smiles gently.

"Morning Inari." Tatsuya smiles gently as he moved over for Clara to sit if she wanted but Clara shook her head gently.

"Please call me Clara, my mom lived in America for several years and got used to people calling her by her first time so it rubbed off on me, so please Clara is fine." Some of the guys on the team blushed at the thought of using a girl's first name but they seemed happy enough to do so.

"Than please call us by our first names too." One player said with a smirk and the other agrees.

"So, what do you have in the bag?" One of the players asked with a smirk, of course he knew what was in the bag, pretty sure Tatsuya has told everyone on the team how much of a pain Murasakibara was to Clara but she smiled anyways and told them.

"Well… I have cookies in here, I have Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sparkling Toffee Cookies." Clara said proudly, she opened the bag and gave each player a cookie. The look on their faces made Clara do an internal fist pump as the boy's eyes sparkle from tasting the sugary treats. Clara giggled. "Glad you like them."

"Ooooi…" A dark ominous voice rang out that caused Clara and every player to freeze, except Tatsuya who continued to nibble on his cookie with a daydream like smile. Clara felt some pressure on her head as she looked up to see Murasakibara glaring down at her and his teammates with his oversize hand on her head.

Clara chuckled nervously. "Good morning…"


	3. Chapter 3

Wow! I am glad there are a lot of people loving this story! It warms my heart truly! :D

I hope you continue to enjoy the story as I bring the chapters out! And please review, I would love to hear what everyone thinks but please no flames, only constructive criticism please and thank you!

NOW! Let's find out if Murasakibara will crush Clara for giving out the cookies before he could have some himself!

~!~

Last night at Murasakibara's house...

Murasakibara couldn't sleep. Plain and simple. His eyes stared absentmindedly at his ceiling. The anticipation of having those cookies again made his brain kick into high gear, refusing him that sweet relief called sleep. He, once again, started to remember the taste of the cookies he had that very morning.

The chewy center... The right amount of crunchy texture... The chocolate chips...

Murasakibara turned on his stomach with his face in his pillow, again trying to fall asleep but than he flipped back over again on his back to continue to stare up at the ceiling, his eye drawing little circles, little circles of cookies that is. Suddenly, Murasakibara could hear the little tweets of birds in the early morning and he brought his bed sheets over his face to groan heavily. Murasakibara came to the conclusion of taking a nap in class today.

So the teenager got up from his bed and walked to the bathroom to take a morning shower to help wake him up, or at least tried to, he blacked out a few times under the hot water but he cleaned up and hopped out and started to brush his hair with his toothbrush and just as he attempted to brush his teeth with his comb is when he realized what he was doing. Murasakibara sighed and straighten up and started to brush his teeth and than comb his hair, soon he was out the door.

After a twenty-minute walk Murasakibara went past the school gates, not only were his eyes bloodshot but also he seemed to give off an even more tired expression than usual. He groaned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes again. "So tired…" He groaned out as memories of the previous night came back to him.

Murasakibara looked around the schoolyard, trying to find the very girl that kept him up last night, or at least the tasty treats she was supposed to bring. As he made his way through the crowd he yawned loudly, scratching his head to relief himself from an annoying itch. Not Ten seconds have passed when Murasakibara found him self-yawning again but mid way into his yawn his nose picked up a familiar sweet smell. Murasakibara felt his heart leap into his throat, he felt even more wide-awake when he noticed a new aroma, an even better one than there was before. He followed his nose and he came upon a blissful sight, he saw in Clara's hands was a huge bag of scrumptious looking cookies he has ever seen and he noticed she brought another kind too and they looked extra delicious as he got closer. Murasakibara suddenly stood frozen at the sight that befell him...

Murasakibara saw his teammates enjoying a single delicious treat from Clara; she had a look of pride on her face as she laughed at their stupid blissful expressions. Soon, Murasakibara felt anger rising in his chest. The look on Tatsuya's face... On the others... It's the look of pure joy… joy of that glorious moment you bit down into that chewy cookie. They dare to eat the treats that were promised to him and to him only? Murasakibara reached out menacingly towards Clara's head.

"Ooooi?" His voice was dark, his presence radiated off a purple aura. His teammates froze in place at the very sound of his angered voice. As Murasakibara's hand clasped down on Clara's head, she started to shake gently as she looked up at Murasakibara with a scared expression, her expression was almost cute... Almost.

"Good morning..." She squeaked out.

Murasakibara stared down at her more intensely. "I thought those were going to be mine?" He growled.

Clara shook gently. "Don't worry... There's plenty left..." She lifted up the bag that was filled with cookies; the aroma was almost too much for Murasakibara to handle. He stood ridged, unmoving, not speaking as his eyes started to turn big and sparkly as he stared down at the baked goods, forgetting about his teammates betrayal of taking his cookies.

~!~

Clara started to relax as Murasakibara seemed to calm down himself but he still had a firm grip on her head. "So anyways..." She cough gently and held out the cookies above her head, to which Murasakibara releases her head as his arms went limp to the side, Clara stared into Murasakibara's violet eyes as he stared down at the cookies. Son a dreamy look appeared on his face, everyone could clearly see the sparkles in his eyes. Clara couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips as she took that moment to turn around and held out the bag towards him now, "Because you found something that is very precious to me, I thought I give you a little extra." She smiles brightly as she did yesterday. "There's almost 3 dozen of cookies in here."

The basketball team looked in amazement as the number of cookies in the bag, it was enough to feed the first string basketball team twice over, but everyone knew that Murasakibara could eat all these treats himself and he was going to be damn sure to be the only one to eat them.

"As you can see, there's my 'Super Duper Lucky Chocolate Chip Cookies' and these..." She pointed to a creamy white sugar cookie with little light brown spots, "...are 'Sparkling Toffee Cookies'." Clara continued to hold the bag out.

Finally Murasakibara came back to his senses as he reached out and took hold of the bag. He carefully took one of the toffee cookies and placed it in his mouth. Clara, Tatsuya, and the other players stared in amazement at the euphoric look on Murasakibara's face; he didn't take the bite he just kept the cookie in his mouth as he stared up into space, than he started to munch down.

"I take it that you like them?" She smirked as she crossed her arms in victory, but when Murasakibara didn't seem to listen as he continued to eat, he was on his fourth cookie at this point. "Careful you will get a stomach ache of you eat them all so fast!" Murasakibara looked at Clara as he went back to his usually monotone voice.

"No I won't." Clara went ridged as she saw crumbs on his tinted cheek face as he continued to enjoy the sugary sweetness.

 _'He's such a child!'_ Clara exclaimed in her head as she blushed, but she calmed down and sighed brushing away the cuteness from her mind, "Anyways, I have to get to class, bye everyone!" She turned to head towards the school when Murasakibara's giant hand stopped her in her tracks and suddenly made her turn around to face him once again. Clara looked up at him in confusion as he leaned down to be at her eye level. Than with tenderness she didn't realize he had, slowly ruffled her hair, like she was a child, but the gesture made her blush.

"Thank you." He smiled at her gently with a playful voice.

Clara smiled sweetly back at him as she took a hold of her necklace. "No, thank you." They both smiled at each other before for a moment longer before Clara pulled away. "Well I am heading to class." She took off without a second look, but without her knowing the other team members tried to get another cookie from Murasakibara but his smiling face turned into a twisted snarl, making the team members jump and run away themselves to class.

~!~

"Ahhh... It's so nice out..." Clara sighed gently as she swept a lock of her hair behind her ear when the wind decided to knock it in her face, her gym class was outside that day and it was just absolutely gorgeous out, it was a free day to do anything. Most of the girls went ahead and talked amongst themselves at the bleachers or lay out in the grass but Clara decided to wanted some movement, she been sitting down for too long and needed to move, so out of options on ball choice she took a basketball from the ball bag and started to dribble a little as she made her way to the outside courts. She played basketball slightly in elementary and middle school but she found volleyball more fun. Some reason smacking a ball around helped relieve stress. Clara chuckled as she remembers during a game she played in, Clara spiked a ball so hard in an opponent's face the girl practically went flying from the impact, normally she wouldn't laugh at someone's misfortune but that girl had it coming, she talked big but she didn't deliver in the end.

Anyways Clara entered on the courts and noticed a few others there, either chatting or shooting baskets, Clara noticed Murasakibara and Tatsuya but it looked like they were in their own little world as they played one on one with each other, Murasakibara didn't look all too enthusiastic about playing but for some reason Clara thought she saw a smile on his face. While she brushed that thought aside she turned to an empty basket and ran up to it to do a layup, the ball bounce against the board the small square before it landed inside the rim. Clara caught the ball before it hit the ground to than turn to dribble back out to the side, near the free throw line, she squared up her shot but missed, but she took that missed shot and turned it into another layup.

"Hoo? I didn't think you played basketball because you said you wanted to try out for volleyball." Clara jumped slightly from the sudden voice near her, she turned her attention to Tatsuya who stood on her right, and she brushed the sudden appearance aside to square up for another shot.

Clara grins as she took another shot, which made it in this time, "I dabble in it but I don't play on a team as you know." She picked up the ball when it rolled over to her.

"Not a bad form, need to tweak a few things." Clara chuckled along with Tatsuya when he suddenly smirked as he spins the basketball on his finger. "Wanna play one on one?" Tatsuya smirked as he dropped the ball to dribble it in between his legs.

The sudden question left Clara chuckling, shaking her head. "I have a feeling you will have an advantage over me." Clara squared to take another shot only for her ball to be snatched out in mid air. Clara's mouth hung open as Murasakibara grasped the ball tightly in his hand as he stared down at her.

He wore his usual bored expression but he had a small smile on his face as he passed the ball back to Clara to which she caught easily but still was amazed at how Murasakibara caught the basketball. "Wow… that was… pretty damn impressive." She chuckled as she tried to grip the ball like Murasakibara but because of her somewhat smaller hands she couldn't hold the ball up for very long. "Well… if I had big hands like you I could do it." She laughed as she started to spin the ball on her finger now as well before doing some dribble moves. But when Clara tried to do an in between the legs dribble the basketball bounced off her leg and rolled away. "I could never get that down.." She chuckled as she jogged to get the ball.

"How are you enjoying your second day of school Clara?" Tatsuya asked gently as he continued to shoot some baskets while Murasakibara pulled out a cookie he had in his pocket to munch on.

Clara noticed the stow away cookie as she shook her head before looking back to Tatsuya. "It's going good now that a certain someone's appetite has settled…" Murasakibara pulled out another cookie. "…Somewhat…" Clara shook her head slightly. "So what is it like going up against you in a game Murasakibara?"

Murasakibara looked to Clara with an arched eyebrow but still in a low voice, "You don't stand a chance against me Cookie…"

Clara felt her eye twitch. "I wasn't challenging you in the first place, I was just curious because of how tall you are...

And please… don't call me that.. I do have a name…"

"But Cookie is easy to remember…" He stated matter of fact which caused Clara to raise her voice slightly, Tatsuya again felt like he was a third wheel so he continued to shoot baskets while the two talked.

"That doesn't make sense! It's easier to call me Clara!" Clara tried to make a sound argument but it seems the pleas fell on deaf ears but she suddenly got an idea. "Okay! I got it!" Clara smirked as she tossed a basketball to Murasakibara who caught it with ease. Murasakibara blinked at Clara with curiosity as she pointed to the hoop.

"Let's make a bet…" Murasakibara blinked in confusion but Clara kept talking. "First one to reach 5 baskets is the winner, if I win, you have to start calling me by my name, no more 'Cookie'!"

Tatsuya looked a little surprised at the daring challenge but Murasakibara didn't look interested. "I don't think so…" Clara gapped.

"What why not?" She pouted.

"What do I get if I win?" Murasakibara asked as he started to dribble the ball. "Why should you get something if you win? I want to win something…" Clara blinked, as Murasakibara's voice seemed to go slightly higher, was he complaining? Sounded like it, Clara didn't think she will ever get used to him acting like a kid but she didn't argue back. Murasakibara shook his head as he turned his back on her. "I will pass…"

Clara was about to come up with another argument when she thought of something, she smiled, and there was no way he would pass this up. "How about I bake you cookies every so often, if you win?"

That got Murasakibara's attention, he turned his head around and looked her in the eyes. "Hmmm?" Clara didn't back down from her bet as she stared at him, almost certain he would take the bet.

Tatsuya walked up to her. "Uh Clara…" Clara looked to Tatsuya. "Have you heard of anyone called the Generation of Miracles?"

Clara blinked as she looked at Tatsuya in confusion. "No, why? Are they some kind of band?" Generation of Miracles? Clara never heard of that before, she thought back a bit, trying to see if she remembered anyone saying anything in that kind of phrase but nothing came to mind. "Sorry Tatsuya, I don't know…"

~!~

Tatsuya blinked dumbfounded at the clueless girl in front of him. This girl seriously didn't know anything about the Generation of Miracles, who or what they were he seriously couldn't believe it. "Clara… they're…"

"Fine…" Tatsuya snapped his attention to Murasakibara who had a smile on his face. "One on one… first to five…" Tatsuya went over to his teammate, Clara took that moment to stretch out her legs and arms, she even practiced a few times dribbling in between her legs or… tried to at least, she even took a few extra shots at the basket near her.

"Atsushi, aren't you being a little cruel? She doesn't know what you are capable of…" He said in hush words but his word fell on deaf ears as Tatsuya saw how excited Murasakibara looked about the chance of getting more cookies from Clara again. "Maybe you should give her a handicap?"

Clara heard Tatsuya that time. "No! No handicap, handicaps are for wimps!" She stated proudly as she stood at the half court mark, she had fire in her eyes as she smirked at the chance of competing. "Please, do not go easy on me!" She sounded like she was begging. "I rather be taken seriously than someone being easy on me, it's no fun that way!"

Tatsuya sighed. "Have it your way…"

Tatsuya passed the ball to Clara who snatched it off the ground and started to dribble towards the basket with Murasakibara underneath it. Tatsuya could already feel Murasakibara's basketball aura spill out but Clara didn't look concerned, which surprised him. Maybe she had a plan on beating him? He watched intently, 'Maybe she could actually give him a run for his money...'

It wasn't even five minutes before the game was over. Clara sat on the ground dumbfounded, she looked like a little kid blinking in confusion for seeing a magic trick for the first time, and she looked like she was trying to replay what happened in the past few minutes. Tatsuya sighed. Clara lost… zero to five.

"Huh… that outcome looked a lot different than what I had in mind…" Clara spoke gently as she put her hand to mouth as she stared up at the sky in wonder.

Tatsuya went over to Clara to help her up. "Clara… Murasakibara is part of an all-star team from a school named Teikō Junior High…they're easily recognized as the best players in the league…and still are..." As Tatsuya explained Murasakibara, with a smirk on his face, walked up to the two to be apart of the conversation or at least listen to the conversation, Tatsuya wasn't surprised that Murasakibara wasn't breaking a sweat, that little game was a warm up for the big guy, Clara on the other hand has a few strains of sweat dripping off her brow.

Clara blinked and than realization dawned on her. "Ohhhh…" She suddenly started to laugh which got Tatsuya even more confused, even Murasakibara looked at her curiously. "Okay! Let's ante up the bet than!" The sudden rematch challenge surprised Tatsuya; didn't this girl even learn from the last game?!

"But…" Tatsuya stopped himself as he saw a fire lit up in Clara's eyes as she smirked. Clara went to the half way mark again, dribbling the ball and getting into position.

"How will the stakes be higher?" Murasakibara asked as he took out yet another cookie from his pocket.

"I will bake you cookies for the entire year and maybe throw in some home made lunches too." The cookie in Murasakibara's hand was crunched to crumbs at the new bet and now he seemed to be on fire because he got into a stance that made Tatsuya regret FOR Clara for anteing up the stakes but Clara didn't look too worried.

Tatsuya thought to himself again, 'Maybe now that she sees what he is capable of maybe she has a better idea on how to score?' Tatsuya watched in anticipation.

This time three minutes haven't passed and Clara was laying face down on the ground, lost yet again but this time she was able to make a basket but it was a mistake on Murasakibara's part for not going all the way to the half way mark on the court to tag. So in the end, Clara didn't make a single basket. Tatsuya went to Clara's side again.

"Are you okay?" Tatsuya asked gently when Clara sat up.

"Of course I am…" Clara pouted as she got on her knees; she was fuming as she stared at the happy-go-lucky Murasakibara.

Tatsuya chuckled to himself at how Clara was taking the loss well from the game… well if you could even call it game, he chuckled again.

Suddenly Murasakibara gave Clara a widen smile, Tatsuya felt Clara flinch next to him and saw her shiver, Clara quickly got up on her feet and stepped back slightly, Tatsuya followed by standing up straight too as he watched what enfold in front of him. Even though Clara looked afraid to ask, the words slipped past her lips. "W-what?" She staggered.

"I look forward to this year… Cookie…" Murasakibara stated with a playful yet taunting voice, causing Clara to get angry and start shouting at Murasakibara while Tatsuya stood and watched with a small smile on his face, he than started to laugh whole heartily as Murasakibara held Clara back with his hand on her head while she moved her hands around trying to grab the basketball from Murasakibara's other hand.

"Come on give me the ball!" Clara demanded as she continued to push towards Murasakibara.

"Nope!" Murasakibara had a bright smile on his face.

 _'This could be an interesting year…'_ Tatsuya smiled as he than started up a small game with Clara himself. _'Interesting indeed.'_


	4. Chapter 4

Murasakibara looked out the gymnasium windows, he watched as the lighting danced in the darkened sky. Thunder roared every once in a while and it seemed to be getting closer to the school by the second but he didn't mind the weather, actually it was rather soothing, even though it was a pain to move around when it poured, well he did bring his umbrella so he shouldn't feel too concerned.

"Atsushi!"

Murasakibara turned his head when he heard Tatsuya's voice calling out to him and just in time, as Murasakibara was able to catch and than proceeded to dunk the basketball into the hoop. Tatsuya came up and gave his teammate a high five before heading back to the practice game between teammates. Murasakibara stayed behind again as he looked back out the window, he saw the rain was coming down rather harshly this time just as lighting brighten the sky for a moment.

Soon Coach Araki called the end of practice, the sweaty Yōsen team wiped their brows, arms and neck as they walked towards the locker room. Once inside the locker room, Murasakibara drape a towel over his head to help dry out his damp hair. Once he was finished changing back into his school uniform Murasakibara headed towards the exist of the locker room, he was able to spot Tatsuya waiting patiently for him.

"Ready?" Tatsuya asked as he and Murasakibara headed towards the exist of the gymnasium.

Coach Araki's voice rang out to the retreating team. "Alright, same time, same place tomorrow people!" She commanded as she thwacked her bamboo sword against the floor before she turned to head to her office on the opposite side of the gym, the team chanted out in confirmation before leaving.

Murasakibara dug into his bag looking for something, he actually stopped right at the door way to look closer into his bag. Tatsuya, with his umbrella out, walked a little ahead before he noticed Murasakibara wasn't at his side anymore. Soon enough Murasakibara found exactly what he was looking for and started walking with Tatsuya again, with his own umbrella out, in his once free hand was his last bit of peanut butter blossoms he got from Clara, he brought up the sugary treat to his mouth to pluck the little Hershey kiss from the top before nibbling on the rest. Once that cookie was safe inside his tummy he went for the last one.

"Good job today Atsushi." Tatsuya said with a smile as he took out his water bottle to take a sip, Murasakibara could only nod his thanks as he continued to nibble and enjoy his peanut butter blossom cookie. "You were more energetic in practice today, what is up with that?" Tatsuya teased just as Murasakibara finished his cookie and than found a lunch box that was off to the side in his bag.

"If you have time to tease you have time to work on that drive of yours…" Murasakibara chided back causing Tatsuya to chuckle nervously.

"Sorry, sorry… but this it the third lunch right?" Tatsuya asked as he and Murasakibara headed towards the front of the schoolyard. It has been a month since the bet and Clara has made several lunches for Murasakibara and a few batches of different kinds of cookies; needless to say, Clara has proven that she is a wonderful cook. Tatsuya was even able to have some whenever she made too much, "I am surprised Clara is actually holding up her side of the bargain, I was kind of sure she would laugh it off and not do it…" Murasakibara was semi listening as he tried to nibble on some crumbs in the lunch box, with his umbrella tucked under his arm. Murasakibara felt suddenly protective when Tatsuya sprouted his sickening question. "Her cooking is really good huh?"

Murasakibara glared down, he stepped away from Tatsuya, holding the box close to his chest. "I won't give you any…" He stated loud and clearly, the first lunch box Clara made for Murasakibara was a failure… or at least the stew was, he told Clara the kinds of food he liked but he forgot to mention his dislike for veggies and the cream stew she brought for him had quite a few in there, so Tatsuya was the lucky to be able to eat the stew while Murasakibara had whatever was left over.

Tatsuya chuckled and backed away as well to show he meant no harm. "You're really scary when it comes to food…"

Murasakibara didn't want to admit it, or his actions already gave away his opinion but he did like Clara's cooking, it reminded him of his grandmother's cooking, it was homey, satisfying and just down right delicious. It even gave him a boost of energy even at the end of the day, which Tatsuya was able to notice.

"It's not bad…" Murasakibara stated, hiding his true feelings on the subject, which he heard Tatsuya chuckling slightly.

"Well that's good… I am also surprised that you are even allowing her to make you lunches, you really are a picky eater…" Tatsuya stated bluntly.

"Well... Cookie will ask me what I want the day before and I tell her what I want..." Murasakibara yawned as he didn't mention he also gives her very detailed directions on what to do and not to do, to which he is surprised she hasn't made a mistake… well, she did put veggies in the cream stew she made…to which Tatsuya was able to eat... Murasakibara will probably never let that go.

"Good thing the wind isn't bad otherwise our umbrellas would be shot…" Tatsuya said as the two Yōsen boys tread on through Mother Nature's wrath.

Suddenly both boys jumped at the loud crackling of thunder and lightening. "Damn it!" Tatsuya cursed as he held his chest slightly. "Let's hurry and get to…" Tatsuya didn't finish his sentence as he looked towards the stoop of the school. Murasakibara blinked in confusion as he followed his teammates gaze and there he saw Clara huddled by the pillar, taking shelter from the rain, she had her hands over her ears as Murasakibara saw her shake.

"Cookie?"

Murasakibara felt a twinge in his chest as Clara looked up. She had some tears running down her face as she saw the two.

"Mura…saki…bara… Tatsu…ya?" She said slowly, she got up and wipe her tears away.

"You sure cry a lot Cookie." Murasakibara didn't mean for the words to sound harshly but that seemed to get Clara out of her depressed state.

"I wasn't crying!" Clara sniffled as she wipes a few tears away. "The last bit of lighting scared me…"

"Why are you still here Clara?" Tatsuya asked gently as he made his way up the stairs and for some reason Murasakibara felt some kind of heat or some kind of pins and needles in his chest, he didn't like the way Tatsuya treated Clara, or how Clara blushed every time Tatsuya talked to her. Unintentionally, Murasakibara followed after Tatsuya at the top of the stairs.

"I got caught in the rain, I didn't pay attention to the weather this morning and didn't bring my umbrella…" Clara chuckled as she tapped her head. "Silly me, normally I would just brave the storm but it's so thick I can't see very far…" She sighed. "At least I got my homework done." Murasakibara caught that last part she mumbled.

"Where do you live?" Murasakibara was caught off guard by the question Tatsuya suddenly asked, and it made him even more annoyed when Clara stuttered out her answer, what did she have a crush on Tatsuya? Murasakibara turned his face away as he realized something, why did he care if she liked Tatsuya or not, than he realized something again, if she started dating Tatsuya than he will get all her delicious foodstuffs. Alarms went off in Murasakibara's mind as he turned back, is that why he keeps feeling these sharp pains in his chest every time he sees them talking to each other? Or at least that's what he thinks is going on.

Tatsuya looked to Murasakibara. "Why don't we escort her home Atsushi, she actually doesn't live too far off from the train station." He stated gently.

Murasakibara shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever, seems more troublesome than anything…" He grumbled.

"I am sorry… for your trouble Murasakibara I can give you a few experimental treats I tried to bake last night." Clara said with a smile and just like that Murasakibara held his umbrella over Clara like she was a princess.

"Right this way…"

Clara giggled at his sudden change of mood, Murasakibara felt a twinge in his chest again his heart beat was racing slightly from Clara's slight chuckle, even still Murasakibara still convinced himself that it was the chance of getting more snacks from her. Finally, the three students traveled from the schoolyard and down the street towards Clara's apartment.

As they walked the rain seemed to pelt down harder and harder, Clara actually moved closer to Murasakibara when another roar of thunder bellowed from the sky, she grip his arm with her hands, tugging his school jacket slightly, Murasakibara stared down at her with a blank expression but the childish scared look on her face nearly made him blush, she got closer again and finally pink tinged his cheeks as he looked back ahead, not really caring that she was close, that is until he saw Tatsuya staring at him with a smile.

Murasakibara finally snapped out of his little daze and looked the other way to hide his small blush, but he still let Clara hang on to his arm.

"Are you scared of thunder Clara?" Murasakibara could clearly hear Tatsuya asking his small question.

"Usually I am not but after that last big one got me a little on edge…" It was at the moment Clara finally noticed she had been clinging to Murasakibara's jacket, she squeaked and jumped away. "Sorry!" She slammed her arms down against her body and waddled, like a penguin… or maybe a robot?

Murasakibara turned away to hide a chuckle that rose in his throat but he went back to his bored expression from seeing Tatsuya's smiling face again. "It's fine… how much further Cookie?" He rolled out his voice.

Clara looked around and pointed. "Right over there! In that small apartment complex!" The group passed a hedge line and came across a small yet cute apartment building. "It's made up of mostly studio apartments but it's pretty cheap for students." Murasakibara looked the place over before heading up the stairs with the other. "Thank you again you guys, sorry that it was a pain…" Murasakibara noticed she looked specifically at him when she stated her last part in her apology.

Murasakibara shook his head. "It's fine…" But his eyes sparkled, waiting in anticipation, causing Clara to giggle again.

"One second." She turned and unlocked her door and walked in, soon she came back with a bag with a small box wrapped in side. "There're some tarts, cookies and macaroons." Murasakibara took the dainty bag and smiled warmly, he didn't notice the small tint of pink on Clara's cheek. "Thank you again you two."

"Good night Clara, see you at school tomorrow." Tatsuya waved and Murasakibara nibbled on a macaroon with a very happy expression on his face as the two Yōsen boys headed towards the stairs.

~!~

Clara smiles warmly and bows to Murasakibara and Tatsuya before shutting and locking her door.

"Man… it was sure nice they did that for me… I wonder how long I would have had to stay at the school before I grew impatient…" Clara asked herself as she went into the kitchen to start dinner. "Maybe some Stew will be good on a cold rainy night like this…"

-Knock-Knock-

Clara jumped from the sudden knocking at her door. She gulped and went over to the door and peeked through the peephole, she shook slightly, and ready for some kind of jump scare to happen but instead she gasped loudly and quickly unlocked her door. "What happened?"

She quickly asked as she revealed a soaked to the bone Murasakibara and Tatsuya.

"The wind and rain picked up and it broke our umbrellas…" Tatsuya stated warily as both boys held out their clearly broken umbrellas.

Clara gasped as she ushered them inside. "I am sorry, if you hadn't picked me up…" Clara felt horrible; she couldn't believe her carelessness caused even more trouble for these two, even after they went out of their way. "Stay here until the rain subsides and if it doesn't I have extra blankets and pillows."

The boys suddenly both blush horribly, Clara blinked.

Murasakibara turned away as Clara blinked; she looked back at Tatsuya as she watched the two bashful boys coming into her apartment. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No… it's just, we don't want to cause you trouble…" Tatsuya stated gently, clearly a little embarrassed by the thought of staying the night.

"Trouble?" Clara still didn't understand.

"It's kind of strange to have two boys stay the night you know?" Murasakibara stated without looking at Clara, a blush still tingeing his cheeks.

Clara suddenly blushed as she realized what the two were talking about. "Oh… right… sorry… but if the rain doesn't subside I don't want you guys to get hurt when you walk home…" Clara said sadly, "Either way, I have dinner cooking now, it will warm you guys up." She smiles as she left and retrieved some towels and a couple of shirts. "Here, dry yourselves up and these are some of my brother's shirts here, so you can change into those while your uniforms dry up." She pointed and across the room was a door that led to an open closet and than to a bathroom. "You can change in there."

The two looked confused. "Why do you have shirts that belong to your brother?" Tatsuya titled his head curiously.

"He came to visit one weekend and he left a few pieces of his clothing here." Clara stated as a matter of fact.

The boys nod as they make their way to the bathroom; once the door was shut Clara slumped to the floor as she held her heart again. "This… is so not good for my health…" She got up again and walked to the kitchen to continue cooking, she made beef stew but now she made sure there was a pot boiling with no veggies just for Murasakibara. She learned that little mistake when Murasakibara had that grump look on his face the first time she made him lunch and than him putting his large hand on her head to roughly ruffle her hair but a sudden warm feeling rose up in her chest as she remembered when he tasted the other two dishes, he had a warm smile on his face, like he was reliving a memory.

Clara giggled as she continued to stir the stew.

"You sure have a goofy look on your face Cookie." Clara squealed as she jumped at the sound of Murasakibara's voice.

"You startled me…"

"Sorry…" He looked down at what Clara was making and his eyes seemed to radiate his hungry desires, he even started to drool slightly. "That smells good…" He stared down at the boiling pot with a finger to his lips.

Clara giggled at the child like look on his face. "Thanks, this is to make up for that first time I made you stew but it's regular beef stew, I didn't have enough milk to make it cream stew."

"Which pot is mine?" Murasakibara asked, ignoring Clara's little statement because he noticed she had two pots boiling with stew, Murasakibara continued to stare down with some annoyance, he saw one of the pot of stew had some veggies in it but before he could look at the other boiling pot Clara stated without skipping a beat.

"The large pot of course is yours, I know how deep that stomach can go and because you just had practice, I am sure you and Tatsuya are starving but he likes veggies so I made sure I gave him some in his portion." Clara said as she stirs both pots as they simmered and boiled.

"That is very considerate of you Clara." Tatsuya said warmly as he stood at the small doorway that led to the kitchen.

Clara looked off to the side as she mumbled out loud. "No, I just don't want Murasakibara to grip my head and yell at me like before…" Clara gasped as she felt Murasakibara grab her head and he waved her head back and forth.

"Oi… what did you say Cookie? You said you want me to crush you?"

Clara laughed nervously as she grip his hand with her own as he ruffled her hair about. "Sorry, sorry!"

After several hours, the storm finally subsided to a gentle drizzle than to a clear starry night. Clara felt a tinge of loneliness as she watched the boys getting ready to leave. She didn't want them to go but of course she couldn't keep them there for company just because she was lonely in her apartment but she couldn't help it. Clara sometimes thought about moving back home because she almost couldn't deal with the loneliness but she remained strong, she had a dream to accomplish and Yōsen was the start to do that. She opened the door to see the boys out.

"Glad the rain decided to die down for you! Sorry for all the trouble." Clara said gently.

"No trouble." Tatsuya smiles back as he stepped out first.

Murasakibara stayed by the door as Tatsuya head down the stairs, the much taller boy looked down at Clara. Clara's felt her cheeks heat up as she saw a warm smile coming from Murasakibara. "Thank you for the treats and dinner, it was good."

Clara felt her heart skip slightly, she than smiles sweetly. "You're welcome."

"Do you mind if we stop by again?"

Startled, Clara looked up at Murasakibara but after a few seconds she shook her head up and down as she smiled brightly. "Sure!"

~!~

'Do you mind if we stop again?'

"Is what he said but…"

There was a lot of chatter coming from Clara's small living space in her studio apartment. "I didn't expect this!" Clara whipped her spoon towards most of the Yōsen basketball team in the living room, spattering a few of them in the face or the back of their heads, with whatever she was cooking, Clara gasped. "Sorry!" She went over and handed them some napkins.

"Sorry Clara, they just tagged along…" Tatsuya was laughing nervously as he scratched the back of his neck as Clara handed him some napkins to wipe some of the food from his face.

"It's okay, really… I just didn't expect this many to come over…" She than looked over to Murasakibara who looked a little agitated in the corner, Clara had to give him a cookie to sooth his anger down, and the reason he was angry? Because he had to share the food Clara was making, especially the treats she baked. Murasakibara gave a glare to one of his teammates who raved about Clara's baking skills before going back to his own cookie again. Clara sighed as she looked at the group in front of her but a smile came to her face as she turned back to the dinner she was preparing.

She had company over and the loneliness she had in her heart was vanishing by the second, now she was grateful that Murasakibara ate her cookies that day, because of that she was able to make several friends, even if they're all apart of the basketball team.

"Ah! Cookie! That looks good!" Murasakibara scooped a spoon full of cookie dough, causing Clara to gap in horror.

"Don't do that!" She shouted as she tried to push Murasakibara out of her kitchen with laughter rising from her throat.

~!~

Thank you guys for being patient!

I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Tune in for the next chapter!

And thank you to those who have so far have

followed me and/or my story! I am so happy

that a lot of people are enjoying it!

Love ya'll!

Bye-Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone!

Thank you again for the support, the follows, the reviews everything! Thank you very much and I hope you continue to like this story!

As I have mentioned before, in some earlier chapters, I constantly go back and fix grammatical errors or change a sentence because I didn't like the way it sounded and the reason why I am mentioning this again is because I have changed Clara's last name from Yuri to Inari. I had like Yuri when I first started writing but as I continued to write and put her first name and last name together I didn't have a nice ring to it and so I changed it to Inari, Clara Inari seemed to roll off the tongue better! But anyways, here is Chapter five!

~!~

The weekend finally arrived and Clara couldn't have been happier. She had to do some shopping and today was a perfect day! It was comfortable temperature; there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun shown brightly without it being too hot. It was just… perfect.

Clara took a deep breath in, the smell of cut grass and the leaves from trees filled her nostrils. She didn't even hear the passing of cars because she was so focused on the scenery as she made her way towards the shopping district. Just as she was about to turn down the block that led to the shops she took out a long sheet of paper.

Clara looked over her shopping list, mumbling the items to memorize them. "Okay… I should save the grocery shopping for last… so I will head to the sports store…" She looked up from her list and looked down the road and there a small building with a sign of a baseball bat hung out, away from the building.

Clara entered the store and the first thing that hit her nose was the smell of new equipment and leather. Clara made her greetings with the shop clerk.

"Good morning, is there anything specifically you are looking for today Miss?" The clerk smiled as he watched Clara move to the back of the store.

"Yes, but I know where it is, thank you." As Clara made her way through the store, she felt like she was being watched. Clara looked around and saw some guys near the shoes section staring at her before turning back to each other to chuckle. "What?" She asked herself just as she spotted herself in a mirror, she was wearing a cute blue sundress with knee length black leggings with her blonde hair up in a messy ponytail. "Hmmm… maybe coming into a sports shop with a dress on would get a few stares." Nonetheless Clara shrugged her shoulders and continued towards the ball section. She scanned over the rack and took down volleyball, her hands over the smooth texture. Clara's old ball was pretty worn down and she needed a new one, even though she didn't make the volleyball team this year she was going to try her hardest for next year. Just as Clara turned to head to the counter she noticed the basketball section nearby.

Clara blinked at the leathery ball and walked up to the shelves, she set the white ball on the ground to pick up the other sport ball. She scanned it and moved it around in her hands. It was bumpy and course, she liked how the black lines fit in her hands.

Memories of the day of the bet played across her mind, Clara remembered the intensity that radiated off Murasakibara, even though he looked bored most of the time she noticed how much his facial expression changes when he played. Clara knew that basketball meant something to him but during that time he had something to fight for, so of course you would be motivated to if you got the chance of getting free food. Clara chuckled as she not only picked up the volleyball but she also got the basketball in her other hand as well.

"Wouldn't hurt to give Basketball another go…" She mumbled to herself. Just as Clara walked up to the cash register she felt like she kicked something, she looked down and saw a small object as she peered down she saw…

"Is… is that a Key Chain?" Clara blinked as she remembered reading something about Key Chains but… she couldn't place her finger on where she read it. She shrugged and picked up the little metal chain. Clara moved it around her hand to take a closer look at it. Clara noticed it had a small frog figurine on it.

"That's cute, lucky find." The cashier said with a chuckle as he leaned on the counter, Clara nodded in agreement ignoring the flirtatious sound in the man's voice.

Clara swung her bag; she carried, on top of the counter so she could put the keychain on the zipper ring. Once she was done Clara looked at her bag one more time, she giggled at the cute little thing and suddenly it dawned on her, Clara laughed as she flicked the keychain. "I read too many horoscopes." She mumbled as she brought out her wallet and paid for the two sports balls. 'Well… hopefully the one who lost this isn't a big fan of Oha Asa Horoscopes…' Clara walked out of the building and headed down the street, not noticing a tall boy with green hair and glasses running into the store that Clara just walked out of.

Clara stopped as she looked up at the sky; she strained her ears and blinked. "Did I just hear the cries of ultimate suffering?" Clara looked around before she shrugged her shoulders and continued her shopping day.

~!~

 _'Cancer take caution today if you find yourself without your Lucky Item, however, your compatibility with Aries is high, if you come across an Aries, luck may come your way.'_

"I should have taken more caution…" Shintarō Midorima growled to himself as he actually took off his rectangular glasses to message the bridge of his nose, he felt a headache coming on and the stifling of laughter behind him wasn't making anything better. "Takao…"

The green hair teenager loomed over the adolescent with a murderous intent. The darker hair teen looked up with tears streaming down his face as he continued to laugh at Midorima's misfortunes.

"Sorry Midorima… but the look on your face…" Kazunari Takao couldn't hold it in any longer as he started to do a raspy laughter.

"If you were an Aries I wouldn't have cared but we found another useless thing about you…" Midorima said harshly, causing Takao to gapped in shock.

"Excuse me… is everything alright?" A clerk came over to the teenagers with some concern on his face, probably more concerned that the two were causing a scene than Midorima losing his precious Lucky Item.

"My apologizes..." Midorima said with a cool expression as he placed his glasses back on his nose. "But have you seen a Key Chain with a small Kerosuke… I mean frog on it?" Midorima felt a vein near is temple about to burst when Takao started laughing at Midorima's nickname for his little frog figurine.

"Mmmm… I know I haven't seen anything… Oi Richie!" The clerk looked to his coworker at the cash register. "Have you seen a keychain with a frog on it?"

The younger clerk looked at his superior and nodded. "Yeah I did…"

Midorima seemed to have teleported to the cash register because he abruptly appeared out of nowhere and slammed his hands on the counter. "Where?!" His aggression made the youngster jump slightly in intimidation.

"Uh… a girl with blond hair picked it up… she… left just as you ran back in."

Midorima didn't waste anytime to exit the building, he looked both ways down the sidewalk to try to catch a glimpse of a girl with blonde hair, but he didn't see anyone matching the hair description. Midorima cursed under his breath as he started down the sidewalk.

Takao followed after his Shūtoku teammate, finally over his laughing fit. "Don't worry Midorima, I am sure we will find your key chain." Midorima felt Takao's hand on his back.

"No doubt you will find more humor in this as the day goes on..." Midorima felt anger when he heard a puff of a chuckle.

"Sorry... I am done… Seriously, I am!" Takao coughed as to fight back the laughter, "See stone- WHOA!" Midorima frozen in his tracks when he felt foreign substance fall on top of him, Takao looked worried. "Is that dirt?" Sure enough, Midorima found himself covered in dirt, maybe plant soil?

"I am sorry! Are you okay?" Both teens looked up and saw a woman desperately trying to pull a large planting pot in her apartment window, when she pulled it in, it must have slipped her grasp and in an attempt to catch it some of the dirt fell out, including a few flowers. Midorima pat down his outfit to rid of the dirt that was spilled, he was clearly pissed off more than before but he continued to walk not even to bother to answer back to the woman who caused the accident. But Takao waved before following after the moss head teen.

"Man... It's scary sometimes how accurate your horoscopes are..." Takao tried to stifle a chuckle as he helped pat down Midorima. The two made it to a corner of a street and waited for the light to change for them to walk, Takao finished the back and was able to get most of the dirt off. Midorima shook his head that also helped get rid of the dirt that clung to his short hair.

"Why do you think I carry my Lucky Item everywhere?" Midorima scolded as he felt another headache coming on, a chink of a bell in the background seemed to make it worse and it was getting louder by the second, Midorima look around for the source of the annoying sound.

" **Midorima** **!** "

Midorima heard Takao shouting right before he found himself being pulled backwards roughly; he didn't have time to balance himself upright. So Midorima braced himself for a hard landing but most of the pain he felt was on his rear, he was sure he would have hit his head on concrete but instead he felt something tender on the back of his head.

"Whoa! That was close! Are you okay?" Midorima heard Takao's worried voice, "What an ass! THERE IS A REASON WHY THERE IS A BIKE LANE!" Takao shouted in a direction that Midorima couldn't see because he was blocking the view, than Midorima heard a soft pained voice.

"Ow... You okay?" Midorima looked up to see where the voice came from. He than was face to face with a girl, she smiled lightly, her blonde ponytail hair spilled over her shoulder that lightly touched his cheek. Just as Midorima was about to reply he gapped when he realized that the back of his head was laying comfortably in between the girl's breasts. Midorima got up quickly, blushing uncontrollably.

"I am fine! What happened?" Midorima demanded as he stared at Takao.

"You were almost hit by a bike Midorima!" Takao stated with worry as he went past his friend to help the girl up. "Asshole rode his bike on the sidewalk and not in the damn bike lane… are you okay?" Midorima also went back to the girl to help her up, still blushing from the breast incident. Midorima noticed her knees were scrapped; her black knee leggings were torn with speckles of blood sliding down her leg. Midorima figured she landed on her knees when he fell on top of her.

"Thank you, are you okay?" She asked gently but she clearly was in pain but even so Midorima noticed she didn't care that she was bleeding in the slightest, she seemed more worried about him, so all he could do was nod. "Oh good..." She soon noticed her bleeding knees, Midorima saw her flinch, so the adrenaline must be subsiding as she starts to tear up. "Ow..."

Takao looked around and saw a small cafe nearby. "Come on, we can sit over there, they might have a first aid kit." The two Shūtoku boys helped the girl walk over to a table and gently let her sit down, she examined her knees and sure enough they were scrapped pretty good, her blue sundress was lightly stained with blood from her cuts.

"I will go and see if they will lend me their first aid kit." Takao left to go into the building, Midorima watched as Takao interacted with a worker who than disappeared to the back of the cafe. Midorima sat in the chair nearby as he rubbed his palms, they were scrapped as well but they were not bleeding so he didn't make a fuss, thankfully his left hand, well his fingers, were undamaged from the fall, than he heard a small giggle from the girl.

"So, how is your day going?" She joked slightly as she winced in pain again when she moved her legs to get them a little more comfortable, Midorima didn't say anything at first but he soon spoke up.

"Thank you for what you did, I am pretty sure I would have ending up in the hospital if you hadn't done anything." Midorima's gratitude seemed to make the girl smile a little bit more brightly.

"Well… it was an instinct kind of thing…" She chuckled, but there was a pain look in her eyes and it wasn't pain from the wounds she sustained on her knees, more like she was remembering something painful from the past.

"What is your name?" Midorima asked gently as he handed her some napkins for her to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Clara Inari and you?" Clara smiled gently as she nodded her thanks as she took the napkins from him and than applied them to her bleeding knees.

"Shintarō Midorima..."

"Nice to meet you... Too bad we met under... Painful circumstances..." She breathed through painful breaths but she made a small chuckle, she dabbed the napkin to pick up any trailing blood down her legs.

"I got the first aid." Midorima looked up just as Takao came back with a white box that held a Red Cross symbol. "What did I miss? You're not getting gangrene are you?" Takao chuckled at his small joke and the girl chuckled along with him.

"Thankfully not yet."

"This is Kazunari Takao..." Midorima stated as Takao gave Clara a sweet smile while he opened the small box and pulled out some supplies, he shook a bottle that looked like a disinfectant spray but before that Takao handed her some alcohol wipes to clean up the dried blood stains.

"I'm Clara Inari." Clara smiled as she went back to ever so gently cleaning around the area, trying to get as much dirt from her knees. Midorima got some gauze out for the taping of her legs but he jumped slightly when he felt Clara clasping his arm tightly. He saw that Takao was spraying her knees with more disinfectant. "Ahhh! That's smart..." She whimpered.

"Sorry.." Takao said with an apologetic tone.

"No, it's okay, it just.. Stings..." She sniffles as she wipes away a tear.

When Takao was done cleaning one leg near Midorima, he went straight to the other leg to tend to it just as he did the other, while Midorima started to wrap her knee with the gauze bandage he got from the kit. Midorima finished the knee and was about to tend the other but Clara actually beat him to it, her wrapping abilities were just as good as Midorima's, he shook his surprise as he looked up at Clara.

"The wrapping isn't too tight is it?" Midorima asked gently.

"No, it's perfect! Thank you!" Midorima helped Clara stand up test out her mobility after she finished wrapping her knee. "Wow, they actually feel a whole lot better!" She sighed in relief as she continued to shower him with praise until Midorima finally spoke up.

"No...Thank you." Midorima stated clearly as he stood up along with her, he wasn't good at expressing his gratitude but in this case he knew he had to say his thanks, only the heavens knew how hurt he would have gotten if that cyclist collided into him.

Without the two knowing Takao reappeared from inside the cafe, he returned the first aid kit to the cafe manager while the other two were talking. As Takao sat down in his own chair he looked towards Clara, "Are you and athlete Inari? You were able to wrap your other knee nicely it seems."

Clara chuckled as she sat back down at the table as well with a nod. "Yeah, I am a volleyball player, I tape my knees before a game because they tend to give out half way through, but uh... I am not playing this year... the school I go to has a full roster."

"Wow, I have never really tried volleyball… what position are you in?" Takao blinked in wonder when Clara started to laugh, even Midorima looked away with a scoff.

"Idiot… In volleyball the entire team rotates on every play… there…"

Clara came to Takao's defense. "It's okay you didn't know, there may not be any kind of major positions in volleyball like there is in basketball or baseball but there are positions that everyone on the team has to be prepared for." Takao snickered at Midorima who in return ignored the other. "Anyways, volleyball is fun you should try it sometime."

As Midorima stayed silent to listen on the conversation, the recent events has left him a little thirsty as he looked around his eyes landed on a vending machine that sold his favorite Red Bean Soup across the street. He got up from his chair and walked over to it while Takao and Clara continued to talk about the sport she admired. But just as Midorima was about to reach the vending machines his face and most of his upper body was covered in water.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry I didn't see you there!" An elderly shop clerk, who was watering their plants, splashed the extra water right into Midorima's face without realizing. Midorima looked clearly pissed but he didn't lash out he just stood there shocked and remembering what his horoscope said that day, if only he had his damn keychain. Soon he heard both Takao and Clara come rushing over after hearing the commotion.

"Midorima are you okay?" Takao gapped when he saw his teammate soaked, he suddenly turned his head as he felt a laugh bubbling but he kept it down.

"I am truly sorry…" The shop clerk was clearly upset so Clara went to console the elderly worker while Takao moved Midorima away before the teen could blow up to which again he didn't.

"I am surprised you are taking this… rather well Midorima…" Takao in amazement as he once again started to pat down the other.

Midorima took off his casual weekend jacket to shake off the water, thankfully most of the water was on his jacket and didn't seep through but he was still pissed that all this crap is happening to him, he roughly flapped his jacket to get rid of the water, he even ringed it out as well.

"I am just unlucky today remember? I don't have my lucky item so I am expecting to get even more bad luck…" He growled. "I should just go home…" Midorima turned his attention to the vending machine and started to put in his coins to pay for the only good thing that will go right today, even though he was having horrible luck he wasn't going to let it get in the way of his favorite drink.

"Oh come on man, we promised the team we meet up with them today… even some guys from Seirin, Yōsen and Tōō will be there too..." Takao tried to convince his green hair teammate but it doesn't seem to be working, it even seemed to make Midorima not to go even more but just as Takao was about to make another argument for Midorima to go, Clara came over with a towel and handed it to him.

"Man… If I didn't know any better you had a bad luck cloud looming over you…" Clara adjusted her bags that she carried.

"Before that bike incident he actually had a bit of dirt fall on top of him." Takao said which made Midorima glare at his teammate as he pushed in the code for his drink rather harshly.

Clara stared at Midorima with some intensity, which made him a little uncomfortable, the vending machine made a wiring noise, indicating it was getting what Midorima ordered. "What is it? You're staring…"

"Sorry but this is a silly question… but Midorima what is your Zodiac Sign?"

Midorima looked a little surprised from her question but either way he answered right away. "Cancer…"

Clara nodded as she set down her shopping bags and fiddled with something on her own personal bag, once she was done she took Midorima's left hand and laid something on his palm, when she removed her own hand away, it revealed a keychain... with a little frog figurine on it. Both Midorima and Takao's eyes widen in surprise, it was the same Keychain that Midorima lost in the sports shop earlier that day.

"I am not sure if you know Oha Asa Horoscope, I don't know what your actual fortune is because I only read the lucky item and color for the day BUT I did notice in the ranks that Cancer was pretty low today and I read that the lucky item is a keychain, so here you go... you need all the luck you can get!" She smiles brightly as the two still stared in shock. "Well, I have to get going, I have some grocery shopping to do still. As she lifted up her bags Takao and Midorima soon came out of their shocked state when they not only heard a single thump of a can but another one as well, Midorima was able to get two cans of Red Bean Soup while paying for one. Midorima looked at the cans in the vending machine, not looking up he finally called out to Clara.

"Inari…"

Clara turned to look at Midorima, as he addressed her, still not looking at her. "W...what is your zodiac sign?"

Clara smiled, "I am an Aries." Than she looked like she remembered something as she walked back up to the two boys, Clara stood in front of Midorima, gently sat her belongings down and quickly took his hands in hers. Clara squeezed them, like she was trying to give him energy. "I hope the rest of your day is a good one."

Midorima felt a warm energy seep into his body from Clara's little words of encouragement, he actually felt like the rest of his day would be a good one, he just stood there as Clara lets go and walks away while waving goodbye.

"Sheesh... Maybe I need to pay more attention to the horoscope... it makes you a little popular with the ladies..." Takao's voice seemed to ruin the small endearing moment.

"Let's go... I am sure everyone is waiting..."

"What? You actually want to go now?" Takao was surprised when Midorima changed his mind and followed after the taller teen.

~!~

Clara winced as she walked, her knees started to become sore, she even noticed some bruising as well but what do you expect when you fall on top of your knees? And on concrete no less but because of some good medical care from the two guys she met, Clara felt better, slightly. "Man… this day turned out to be an eventful one."

Clara finally spotted the grocery store she intended to go to get the things she needed, she snatched up a cart and soon made her way down the produce isle looking at all the fresh veggies and fresh cuts of meat. Clara promised Murasakibara that she would make some sandwiches, rice balls and other side dishes the next time she made lunch for him. Clara pulled out a list of ingredient Murasakibara would like her to use. Clara chuckled when she remembered the face he made when he mentioned his favorite kind of rice ball filling, so Clara made sure she got everything for that even if she doesn't make him the sandwiches.

As she walked down the isle full of cooking supplies, Clara noticed that the items she needed was on top of a high ass shelf, she cursed under her breath as she tried to reach up. Her fingertips just barely grazed it, she tried to reach for it again but now it seemed she was pushing it back instead of pulling it forward, soon she realized it was no use, she stepped back to go and find an employee until a large hand came out of no where, lift the object and brought it down to her eye level, Clara gasped and than smiled brightly as she extended her hands to take the item, she was about to say her thanks when her eyes widen from the sudden surprise encounter.

"What are you trying to do Cookie?" Murasakibara asked, not only did his purple hair dangle in front of his face, but his tall form towered over Clara like it was nothing and even though his voice sounded bored he had a soften expression on his face as he handed Clara the bamboo sushi mat.

Clara blushed with a small smile as she took the mat from her schoolmate, "Thank you, Murasakibara!" She put the mat in her shopping kart. "I was just getting some ingredients, mostly for you of course." She mumbled the last bit as a laugh spilled past her lips, Murasakibara peered into the cart, he noticed that she had pork, chicken, tuna, some wasabi, plums but his concentration was broken when Clara started to walk away with the cart. "So what are you doing here? Where's Tatsuya?"

Murasakibara followed after Clara as she round a corner, "Muro-chin is hanging with an old friend of his and I am just restocking on my snacks… I am all out of Maiu-bo…" Clara noticed he seemed to be hiding something but she didn't pry, not wanting to delve into his business, either way the two walked side by side as Clara picked up other things to put in her cart.

"I am assuming the cookies I baked a week ago are gone now?" She chuckled as she grab a bag of flour, white and brown sugar, she chuckled a little harder when Murasakibara looked away to hide a blush creeping in. "Oh, I am right huh?"

"I can't help it if they're good… and I can't seem to buy store made cookies anymore because of your cookies…" He grumbled. "They don't taste right, they taste fake, and there's no feeling into them."

Clara watched Murasakibara speak as she blushed again, it seemed whenever she was near the giant Clara found herself blushing a lot, "Well, I am glad you think so highly of my baked goods." Clara stopped the cart abruptly when she noticed an item she almost missed but her body reacted a little slower and she banged her knee against the cart, making flesh on metal reverberate in the store and because of her freshly made cuts on her knees, the pain seemed to intensify tenfold, "Ahhh!" She leaned down to cover her knee with her hand, like if she held it the pain would subside.

Murasakibara stopped walking and finally took notice of the bandages on her legs and the small bit of dried blood on her shirt.

"What happened?" His voice actually sounded concerned as he kneeled down to take a look at her knees.

"… Someone was almost hit by a bike… but I was able to pull them away before it happened but… they fell on top of me and I slammed my knees… ahh it hurts…" Clara whimpered, the pain started to subside but Clara didn't know if she could walk properly after that. Clara gasped out loudly as she felt herself being lifted up off the ground like she weighed nothing and than to being placed in the small seat where the child sits. Clara's face seemed to put a red rose to shame because her face was glowing with embarrassment and she was sure Murasakibara would hear her rapid heart beat if there wasn't any store music and other customers around. "Murasakibara, this…" She struggled to get out but Murasakibara started to push the cart blocking any kind of escape.

"You just sit back and relax, tell me what you need and I will get it for you…" He was looking straight ahead not even looking down at her, his face was slightly blushing as well but Clara knew that if she tried to get out Murasakibara would probably more than likely put her back in the cart and probably strap her in, so she just went along with it and pointed to each of the items she needed.

Despite getting hurt, Clara's day ended on a high note, was it because she was having fun with Murasakibara or just the fact she ran into him, either way Clara couldn't help the smile on her face as she made eye contact with Murasakibara, her smile seem to radiate a little more. Murasakibara didn't smile back but he blushed as he broke away the eye contact, which made Clara giggle a little more, as the two continued to shop together, he even started to put in his own groceries in the cart as well, as they went down another isle Murasakibara felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket no doubt it was the very person who was waiting for him at the small get together.

The screen displayed. _'Seijūrō Akashi.'_

Murasakibara knew he promised he would attend but despite that he didn't answer as he continued to spend his time with Clara, he just didn't know why he wanted to spend his time with her, but he figure it out another day as he took a bite from an Maiu-bo that Clara unwrapped for him.


	6. Chapter 6

It seems like my chapters are getting longer and longer!

Either way! Enjoy chapter 6!

~!~

"Strange…" Seijūrō Akashi closed his smart phone after trying to call Murasakibara for the second time, he brought his phone to his chin in wonder as to why Murasakibara wasn't answering his phone, usually his former teammate would answer the call right away, especially when it was he, Akashi, the one calling. A list of different scenarios ran through his mind, but more than likely Murasakibara got caught up eating his snacks again and lost track of time, either way Akashi didn't bother to try to call him back, knowing that if he didn't answer the last two time he wouldn't answer a third call, but he knew for a fact that Murasakibara will call Akashi back.

Akashi looked up when the color green caught his attention, green hair that is. Midorima is seen coming up the steps to the meeting spot, which was just another part of the shopping district. When the two Shūtoku boys noticed the red hair captain of the Rakuzan basketball team, they nod their heads in recognition.

"You finally made it." Akashi blinked, his voice calm and collected as per usual but his voice changed to that of confusion as he saw Midorima's state. "Why are you covered in dirt? And… is your jacket wet?"

Akashi was even more confused when Takao turned away from the two basketball prodigies to laugh his little lungs out.

Midorima had an annoyed sigh emit from his mouth as he glared at his teammate. "I will kick your ass if you don't stop Takao…" Midorima turned back to Akashi. "I ran into some minor complications on the way over here and we will leave it at that…" But knowing Takao, he would blab at any chance he gets but Akashi saw that Midorima wasn't going to discus anything at the moment. Suddenly both Midorima and Akashi were being pushed by Takao to go off to join the others.

The three boys walked past a bulletin board that had a rather large colorful poster.

"Come one, come all! Middle and High School Basketball Tournament!"

~!~

At that moment, Murasakibara continued to help Clara get everything she needed from the store. He quickly looked down when a familiar aroma filled his nostrils, Murasakibara saw that Clara held out an unwrapped Maiu-bo stick for him, he blushed a little bit as Clara smiled up at him. Murasakibara couldn't help it but lean down to take a bite out of the delicious treat and he continued to do this until there was a bite left to which he took from Clara to finish. Clara tried to get comfortable as she looked at the list.

Murasakibara didn't know why he didn't tell Clara the truth, in actuality he was meeting up with Tatsuya and players from other schools for a small tournament on the other side of town. Even though Yōsen has a policy for their players not to play in unofficial games this tournament was an exception because their school was partially hosting the event. Murasakibara usually wouldn't feel up for a tournament like this but there was a chance he would go up against Taiga Kagami again in a match, he wouldn't be able to get his revenge match with Teppei Kiyoshi but Kagami was a close second. The two players from Seirin flashed in his mind that caused him to frown; suddenly he felt something poking his cheek.

Murasakibara looked down at Clara as she poked him in the cheek with her pen she smiled gently before going back to her list to mark off the items she already got in the shopping cart, for some reason he started to blush as he felt his heart beat quicken, he was starting to get sick and tired of his heart beating as fast as it was, it was annoying and it was because he couldn't understand _why_ it was beating as fast as it was. Clara took notice that Murasakibara was staring down at her and with a smile she held out another opened Maiu-bo stick as she did Murasakibara felt another jolt in his chest, it seemed his heart rate spiked again. Murasakibara suddenly took a hold of Clara's head, to which she squeaked from the sudden grip.

"W-what?"

Clara looked worried but that changed when she saw his soften look.

"How are your knees feeling?"

Clara looked at Murasakibara directly in the eyes and nodded. "They're feeling a bit better, thanks, since you are pushing me around on this cart." She let out a bit of a laugh. "But can you uh… take me out of the cart now?"

"No…"

Clara gasped as she looked up at him in shock. "What? Why not?"

"Because you got hurt… you need to watch yourself more carefully Cookie… if you get sent to the hospital I have nothing to look forward to for lunches and snacks."

Murasakibara noticed that Clara's expression looked a little happy yet disappointed? And some reason he felt a tiny prick of pain in his heart seeing her like that even though it lasted for a second. Murasakibara started to question his statement to her. Was the only reason he was even around her was because of her cooking and baking? Have the times they spent together meant nothing? Murasakibara thought back to the few times where she actually came to basketball practices to help the coach, and the times where the team came over and she made them dinner and the times when it was just Tatsuya and himself and now what about this time? Clara looked up at him with an uncertainty in her eyes and than out of nowhere she asked him out right.

"Uh… Murasakibara… do you consider us friends?" She waited with baited breath for his answer.

Murasakibara finally let's go of her head with a little surprise in his eyes, than he looked to the side blushing. "You could say that…" He mumbled softly, he wasn't sure if she heard him but the word 'friends' kind of felt like a stab in the chest but again Murasakibara pushed that feeling to the side as he stared at her, his expression still calm even though his mind was in chaos and his cheeks tinted pink.

"At first it was about getting cookies from you but you're not so bad to be around." He grumbled out with a slight blush on his cheek making Clara finally smile again but soon it turned into a giggle. Murasakibara felt his cheeks grow even hotter as he stepped back slightly. "Why are you laughing? Ahhh! I can't take this…" Murasakibara turned on his heels leaving Clara in the cart behind.

"AHH! Murasakibara! Don't leave me in here!" She yelled out as she struggled to free herself.

Tatsuya was concerned, Murasakibara was only going to the grocery store that was nearby to get some potato chips, two hours have passed and he hasn't returned. Did he bale on his friends at the last minute? Tatsuya tried to call his teammate again and Murasakibara still wouldn't answer. Tatsuya sighed heavily as he started to grow more agitated.

"Oi Tatsuya, what is it?" Tatsuya turned his to long time friend he met in America, Taiga Kagami, his fiery red hair seemed to stand out in the warm daylight as he stared hard at Tatsuya, to which he shook his head with a hard smile.

"Atsushi hasn't replied to my calls and I am starting to get concerned…and pissed off." Tatsuya sighed heavily again as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He is such a pain sometimes…"

"I saw him." A soft monotone voice that seemed to come out of nowhere made Tatsuya and Kagami both jump nearly 10 feet in the air, Kagami whipped around to take hold of his blue hair partner's collar and lifted him off the ground, clearly pissed off.

"Kuroko! You ass wipe!" Kagami was about to yell at him more but Kuroko ignored his teammate and looked at Tatsuya.

"I saw him as I passed the grocery store… he looked rather happy…" Kuroko looked a little surprised or as surprised he could get. "He was walking with a girl… carrying her grocery bags."

Tatsuya's eyes widen an image of Clara formed in his mind. "A girl? What did she look like?"

Kuroko started to describe the girl in vivid detail leaving Kagami and Tatsuya speechless. Once again, Tatsuya could clearly see Clara, like she was standing right next to Kuroko as he continued to describe his classmate, Tatsuya than noticed that Kagami was staring at him with crossed arms.

"So do you know the girl?" Kagami waited patiently for Tatsuya to answer.

"Yeah, she is in the same class as Atsushi and I." Tatsuya started to tell the two Seirin boys about how Clara became a little bit closer to him and Murasakibara over the past month and a half. "She is very nice, kind of cute too." Tatsuya looked up in thought.

Kagami gapped. "Tatsuya! Do you have crush on her?"

Tatsuya chuckled. "Oh no! I see her more as a sister." Tatsuya noticed that Kagami didn't look convinced. "Oh come on Taiga, it's not like that!" Tatsuya chuckled as Kagami started to form a playful smirk, making Tatsuya punch him on the shoulder. "Anyways, I think Murasakibara likes her a little bit more than I do, well he certainly likes her cooking."

Kuroko arched his eyebrow. "Really? That is surprising."

"Right?" Tatsuya chuckled again and sighed, than Tatsuya got an idea, if Clara was with Murasakibara… than. "I wonder…" Tatsuya brought out his phone again and started to dial but instead of calling Murasakibara he called Clara's phone, hoping that he was still with her.

 _'Hello? Tatsuya?'_ A sweet voice rang casually over the phone.

"Hello Clara, yeah it's Tatsuya!" He smiles as he talked over the phone. "Sorry for calling you suddenly but is Atsushi with you?"

 _'Ah, yes he is right here…Murasakibara it's Tatsuya, is everything okay?'_ Her voice sounded slightly distant, she must have pulled her phone away from her mouth but than her voice sounded close again she sounded concerned now, Tatsuya heard a bored voice on the other side and soon Clara and Murasakibara started a small conversation. Tatsuya sighed as he tried to get Clara's attention and he succeeds because she returned to the phone. _'Yes Tatsuya?'_

"I am glad Atsushi is with you, I was worried… can you ask him _when_ he is planning on joining us at the top of the hill near the shopping district? We were supposed to play in a street tournament and he kind of disappeared on us." Tatsuya smiled evilly when he heard Clara gasp in surprise and than heard her angry voice.

 _'Murasakibara! You said you were just restocking your snacks, Himuro said…!'_ Tatsuya heard the annoyed voice again to interrupt Clara's rant and soon Murasakibara got on the phone.

 _'I was on my way back Muro-chin… you didn't have to call..'_ He sounded annoyed.

"Sorry, you were gone for a bit so I was worried… where are you?"

Murasakibara went silent and suddenly there was a high pitch whine. _'Ahhh! Cookie don't take them away! I got it! I got it! I will go!'_

Tatsuya tried to get Murasakibara's attention but it was useless when the other hung up the phone, Tatsuya chuckled.

"You looked like you were having fun…" Kagami smirked. "You have a sadistic side don't you?"

"Hmmm I don't know what you are talking about." The two old time buddies started talking again.

~!~

Murasakibara was pouting as he followed Clara who walked ahead of him a bit, she was clearly upset and it was all because he didn't tell her he actually had a promise to keep that day but why did he care if she was mad? Murasakibara pushed away the thought and continued to follow her, he eyed the rather large box in her hand with a pout on his face, he wasn't happy… not… one… bit. Because of his little white lie the cookies Clara was going to give him that upcoming week was going to go to everyone who was joining in the small street basketball tournament. He pouted his cheeks out even more as tried to convince her to not give his tasty treats away.

"Oi… Cookie… Please don't give away my snacks… the others won't know how to appreciate them…" He pouted out a whimper as he came up behind her.

Clara turned to glare at him. "I know you are not much for commitment Murasakibara but when you promise something you should keep that promise and so... **THIS** is your punishment for lying to me and for almost skipping out on the tournament, so you only get **ONE** cookie and this is a **GOOD** batch!" Clara emphasized certain words knowing Murasakibara would writhe and she was right Murasakibara had a look of despair on his face, he felt like he was ready to cry.

"Ahhh but Cookie!" Murasakibara almost slumped to his knees with tears ready to fall.

Clara made the mistake of looking back at him and Murasakibara heard her sigh deeply, he looked up at her as she stopped in front of him, she didn't look at him as she had a small blush on her cheeks, she was pouting herself now. "Damn it… if you make it up to Tatsuya in the games I will give you a few more cookies…"

At the mention of a possible chance of getting more than just the one cookie, Murasakibara didn't look so depressed anymore but he clearly wasn't happy either, still not wanting to share the cookies and treats that Clara made, he than saw her hold up the wrapped up box. "I also made some Honey Lemon slices too, I hope they turned out well, it was the first time I made them." She looked back at Murasakibara before starting to walk again. "So who is all gonna be there?"

Murasakibara seemed to get out of his sulk because he started to nibble on some of the snacks her bought at the store, as he took a bite out of a potato chip he started to list off a few names. "Well.. I know Muro-chin and I are the only ones from Yōsen playing… Aka-chin is going to be there with two of his teammates… I think Mido-chin is coming as well… Kuro-chin, Kaga-chin…"

Clara blinked as she looked at the box. "I hope there is enough…"

"If Mine-chin comes it won't be…" Murasakibara growled and suddenly he felt tinge of anxiety in his chest as he looked at Clara, he caught up and started to walk beside her and he started to look at her closely… at her breasts that is, he blushed as he tried to guess her size and… he couldn't tell if they were big or not, probably because he never really paid attention to them… to boobs before but they seemed decent? His face grew hot and he finally looked away as he started to walk next to her. "Cookie…"

Clara looked up at Murasakibara as she waited for him to continue but the innocent look in her eyes made Murasakibara waver to ask her this indecent question, so Murasakibara blushed than looked away. "Nothing…never mind…"

Soon the two made it to the stairs that led to where the courts were. "This is kind of exciting, I get to meet some of the other Miracles right?" She suddenly snickered. "I wonder how fast they would beat me if I went one on one with them… It didn't take three minutes for you to beat me in the second match." She chuckled gently

Murasakibara thought back to the moment when Clara made the bet with him and how fast he beat her. "The only person you might be able to beat… no not even him anymore… now that he can shoot…" Murasakibara thought about it. "You would get trashed badly…"

Clara gasped as she stared at Murasakibara with her shocked green eyes. "Man… Excuse me that basketball isn't my forte…" She said sarcastically as she and Murasakibara looked at each other and soon they both started to laugh gently. "Anyways, it will be a fun day I think." A competitive smirk came to Clara's lips as she started to spring up the stairs. "Race you!" Clara chortled as she made a lead on Murasakibara but he didn't seem interested as he watched her go, even though he started to skip steps to catch up.

"You will trip Cookie…" He mentioned in a bored tone but it seemed as soon as he mentioned it, Clara's foot made a misstep on the top of the stairs, Murasakibara's eyes widen slightly as he gently caught her by the waist. "See what did I tell you?" He groaned as he pulled her close to help her regain her balance. "You okay? Ah, your face is red…" He mumbled as he peered down at her. Clara's speech stuttered so much that Murasakibara couldn't understand her and suddenly she whipped out a cookie and literally chucked it in the air. Murasakibara felt a twinge of animal instinct and actually ran after the tasty treat like a dog chasing a frisbee.

Clara stayed behind to hold her chest in hopes to stop her throbbing heart.

Murasakibara ran fast enough to not only catch up to the cookie but he actually caught it with his mouth instead of his hands, he turned with the cookie trapped in his mouth and he looked pretty please with himself as he started to nibble on it, but his enjoyment of the cookie was cut short when he noticed that Clara was laughing quite hard as she held her stomach, clearly she overcame her embarrassment just a few moments ago.

"Oh my man… that was funny." She continued to chortle and point at Murasakibara who came over to her with an annoyed as all hell look on his face, he grip her head and started to ruffle her hair rather roughly but it seemed like she didn't care as she continued to laugh at what just happened.

"How dare you toss one of those delectable treats away like trash… do you seriously want me to crush you?" He growled with his mouth full of the treat he caught just a moment ago, Murasakibara continued to ruffle her hair, still not taking any notice of him gripping her head and her laughter started to cause Murasakibara to glare daggers at her but soon his face started to soften as he removed his hand and sigh to let out the aggression, he watched Clara look up at him with her face turning from laughter to a surprised look, he continued to stare down at her while chewing on the cookie that was in his mouth. "Your cookies are still yummy…" At that he smiled warmly as he finished off the rest of the cookie she tossed.

Clara smiled back. "Glad you still like them." Clara than looked over and saw Tatsuya waving towards the two. "Ah, there is Tatsuya! Here…" Clara handed him the box full of treats. "I already told Tatsuya that I was bringing treats so he knows these are just not for you." Clara said with a stern voice that made Murasakibara pout slightly and than the giant blinked in confusion.

"Hmm? You're not staying?" Murasakibara blinked at her as he tilt his head to the side.

"Huh? Oh I didn't know I was really invited I just wanted to make sure you didn't make off with the box of treats…" Clara said bluntly which made Murasakibara one again take a hold of Clara's head, he released her when Tatsuya came over.

"Thank you for bringing him Inari, it must have been a pain." Tatsuya didn't hide his displeasure for Murasakibara and he didn't care he was getting a glare from him either.

"No worries and this is for you and your friends." Clara took the box back; actually she had to tug it away from Murasakibara and handed it to Tatsuya much to Murasakibara's pain. "There are some cookies, a few slices of cake and my first time ever Honey Lemon slices. I hope they're alright." Clara looked worried. "Let me know if anyone doesn't like it and I will try again."

"You honestly didn't have to do this but either way you have done more than enough thank you but… you sound like you are not staying?" Tatsuya tilt his head to the side in the same fashion, as Murasakibara that Clara thought was funny.

"Um.. Well if you don't mind me staying to watch." Clara looked at Murasakibara and he shrugged.

"I never said you couldn't stay Cookie." Murasakibara reopened a bag of chips he was already eating.

"Well than… I am staying to watch than!"

~!~

Soon the three Yōsen students headed towards the cheers and yells of basketball fans. Clara saw streamers, banners and a lot of vendors either selling Basketball gear or selling food and drinks even small knick knacks, she felt excited as she heard vendors trying to sell their products as Clara kept on walking she thought she heard Tatsuya and Murasakibara shouting towards her.

"Yeah huh…" She called back as she continued to go deeper in the festival.

"DOES YOUR CHILD WANT TO PLAY BASKETBALL? THAN SIGN YOUR TOTS UP FOR THE JUNIOR CLUBS!" One vendor shouted over the throngs of people, the vendor even handed Clara a flyer even though she didn't have children, she didn't even look old enough to have children but she didn't argue and held on the flyer.

"WE ARE SELLING YAKITORI! COME AND GET YOUR HOT STEAMING YAKITORI!" A food vendor shouted and the smell of the chicken and other edible items made Clara drool.

Clara looked on in amazement she hadn't been to something like this is a long time, she looked at all the vendors like a kid. She giggled as she watched a child try to scoop up a goldfish. "Aww he almost had it." She chuckled as she looked over towards Murasakibara and Tatsuya. "Hey hey should we try some… huh?" Clara looked around and saw that she was by herself. She gasped as she looked around. "Oh no! I lost them!" She gasped again as something even more shocking came to her. "How the hell do you lose a 7 foot tall giant?!" Her hands went to her hair to scramble it about as she shouted which caused some people to look in her direction Clara walked off while blushing madly. "Oh man… where did they go?"

Clara looked like she got an idea as she pulled out her phone. "I will call Tatsuya, duh!" She chuckled at how smart she felt but when she tried to turn on her phone to dial the screen stayed black. "Huh?" She started to press random buttons but still nothing. "Oh man.. My phone died…" She sighed as she put a hand on her hips. "Well… they might have headed towards the basketball courts, so I just have to go there!" Clara smirked as she took the first step towards the courts but she stopped in mid-step. "But… where are the courts?"

Clara groaned again, so she just tapped the closet person near her for directions.

"Excuse me… sorry to bother you…" Clara asked nervously. "But how do you get to the basketball courts?"

The person turned around to reveal a boy around Clara's age, his red eyes were intense but there was an honest, sincere look about them as he stared directly into Clara's own green eyes, she waited patiently for his answer and just when she thought he wasn't going to answer...

"I am actually heading there myself, if you would like to follow." His voice was deep but sharp as he stepped aside and gestured for Clara to follow.

"Thank you! I appreciate it!" Clara smiled brightly, as she followed her guide; she noticed he had striking red hair matching the color of his eyes. As they walked Clara was able to see more vendors and even more excited people and being around so many energetic people gave her an adrenaline from hearing more cheering and screaming of die hard fans, after a moment she noticed the silence between her and the boy, so Clara broke the silence. "I just want to say thank you again, I haven't lived in this area long enough to know where everything is."

The teen smiled back as he shook his head. "Not to worry, you were just lucky I was heading there myself."

"Oh? If you weren't, were you still going to help? Or would you have ignored me?" Clara said jokingly and it made the other boy chuckled.

"No, I would have still told you were to go, it would have been rude to ignore a lady in distress." Clara blushed slightly at the comment.

"I don't know about lady and I think you and I are the same age." Clara chuckled but stops short when she saw the courts up ahead. "Awesome, I see the courts!" Clara turned and took a hold of the teens hands within hers and she didn't noticed his shocked expression from the sudden hand shake, once she let's go she started to jog off while yelling back at him. "Thank you again! Have a good day!"

~!~

Seijūrō Akashi watched as the girl whom he just met run off after she was able to get to the destination she was looking for. Akashi than pulled out his phone after it chimed to signal he just received a text message, it was from Midorima, it seemed that Tatsuya finally got Murasakibara at the courts so Akashi headed straight for the group, which of course he was able to find right away.

"Aka-chin, you finally showed up." Murasakibara said in a droll out voice to which Akashi smirked back at his middle school friend.

"It's like the pot calling the kettle black, huh Atsushi…" The two stared at each other before chuckling at each other. It was than that Akashi noticed that everyone was eating treats from a huge box on the ground, he also noticed the blissful look on everyone's faces as they continued to chow down on the sugary treats. But Akashi noticed that Nebuya looked a little sick so Akashi handed his teammate a bottle of water that accepted gratefully as he burped rather loudly, the red head than turned back to the little piggies. "What are you guys eating?"

Akashi noted that Murasakibara's mood changed dangerously as he turned around nibbling on his own cookie and through mumbles Murasakibara filled Akashi in. "Someone from our school made some treats for _everyone_ , she came along but it seemed we lost her in the crowds…Muro-chin went to find her…" Murasakibara's expression changed ever so slightly that Akashi thought he looked a little worried but when Murasakibara took another bite from the cookie he seemed to relax again. Akashi peered down at the box full of treats and saw there was a large assortment of cookies. Looked like there was also some plain cakes with frosting in a little container to the side and than there was a large container full of lemon slices in the hands of Tōō Academy's new basketball captain, Kōsuke Wakamatsu, who in turn was trying to keep the container away from Aomine who in turn was trying to get more slices.

"No you brat! You already had enough!" Wakamatsu shouted at the other Tōō student as Sakurai was trying to calm the situation between his teammates but it wasn't working until Akashi stepped in and snatched the container away.

"Calm down…You two are second years, act like it…" The two sat up straight when Akashi's voice sliced through the tension like a hot knife sliced through butter. Akashi sighed as he looked down at the container with the honey lemon slices and than he turned his attention back to Aomine and Wakamatsu, Akashi suddenly felt curious as to why these two were worked up over some lemons dunked in honey, he took a slice to eat, "They're just honey lemon slices, it's not like you hadn't had them before, they're probably…" As soon as the honey sugary yet sour slice touched his lips Akashi went completely silent and soon his face went into a euphoric like state causing everyone to gasp in shock, his Teikō teammates especially.

Murasakibara started to whine like a child throwing a tantrum. "Nooo! Now even Akashi likes Cookie's treats… this is not fair…"

Akashi finally came out of his blissful state and went to address everyone as he took another slice of lemon.

"He recovered!" Everyone shouted as they watched Akashi pull out a sheet of paper.

Just before Akashi addressed everyone he yet again took another slice of honey lemon and started to eat it as he noticed Tatsuya returning, he must have found their friend because Murasakibara a little relieved to whatever Tatsuya said to him and Murasakibara looked over in a direction and waved just a bit but it happened so fast that Akashi missed whoever Murasakibara was waving to but either way Akashi returned to the paper he pulled out and addressed everyone. "Okay, now that everyone is finally here we can split into our teams, Atsushi because you ran late we already drew you in a group."

Akashi scanned over the sheet of paper and started calling people out. "Team one with consists of Taiga Kagami, Kise, Yoshitaka Moriyama, Tatsuya Himuro, and Kotaro, you will be in court one, which is right over here, your game starts in a few moments, so start warming up."

Kagami and Tatsuya shared a high five with each other, the two 'brothers' were back in action, Kise tried to get in on the brotherly interaction but he only received a hand to the face by Kagami trying to keep the blonde away.

"Ahh! Kagamicchi!" Kise whine as his cheek was getting squished.

"Stop clinging!" Kagami shouted causing some people to chuckle around them.

"The second team is Shun Izuki, Kōsuke Wakamatsu, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, Atsushi, and myself, our first game is right behind us in court three but it doesn't start for another hour or so rest up or warm up." Akashi looked to Murasakibara and smirked. "Will be like old times."

"Yeah… as long as you provide me Maiu-bo after we win."

Akashi chuckled as he went back to the list but not before noticing Murasakibara was looking around in the crowds again, was he trying to find that friend again? The one he waved to before? He pushed the questionable thoughts aside as he continued to call out the teams. "Third team is Junpei Hyūga, Midorima, Shoichi Imayoshi, Mibuchi and Nebuya. Your first match isn't for another hour as well and your playing against.." Akashi looked at the opposing team and grimaced. "Amaz-Spaceballs…" Akashi saw his friends were snickering at what he said which caused Akashi to blush. "A...anyways… you're on court two, so right over there."

The third team grouped up together and Hyūga in particular didn't seem all too please having Mibuchi on his team as he felt the feminine player's eyes on his back, causing his spine to tingle, Imayoshi, the former captain of Tōō Academy, stood near Hyūga and smirked.

"Well this will be an interesting team… we're mostly a shooting team." The three high schoolers with glasses actually adjusted their specs at the exact time causing some chuckles.

"Umm… I am a shooter but I don't glasses on…" Mibuchi said with a smirk but it seemed the other three were ignoring him, which caused Mibuchi to growl in frustration.

Midorima looked towards Nebuya, his face was twisted in discomfort as he held his stomach. "What is it Nebuya? No doubt you will feel better in a moment."

The darker skin teen groaned. "Yeah.. It's nothing… just… something I ate… before I came..." Nebuya burped loudly which disgusted Mibuchi to no end.

Akashi ignored his Rakuzan teammates and looked at the last five who were left standing. "And finally, Tetsuya, Aomine, Ryo Sakurai, Kazunari Takao and Yukio Kasamatsu; you're team four, you'll be on the other side here, on court four."

The other darker skin high schooler drapes his arm around the blue hair teen with a smirk. "Now this feels familiar, eh Tetsu?" Aomine had a huge smile on his face as he stared at Kagami. "Let's see how you do without your shadow Kagami."

"Please don't put me in between your little pissing match…" Kuroko said with an annoyed voice but Akashi saw that Tetsuya looked happy that he was going to play with Aomine again and he should be this will be their first match playing together since middle school and so much has happened since than. Kuroko was able to show his past teammates the value of teamwork and friendship, as corny as it sounded it was true, Akashi was able to admit to himself that he had always wanted to keep playing with everyone but because of their rapid growth in basketball Akashi felt threatened that they would drift apart and never play with each other again and because of that fear he became the monster that everyone was scared of but because of Kuroko he was able to admit those feelings to himself and became the person and player he was meant to be.

After Akashi finished listing off the remaining matches of the day everyone went off to their respected courts, leaving team two and three near before their match but Akashi started to notice more that Nebuya was getting paler by the second, he hiccupped a few times and once Akashi was done naming off the matches Nebuya looked like he couldn't hold it in any longer and went running towards the nearest trash can and threw up the contents in his stomach. Everyone gapped and moved back in surprise but Mibuchi looked like he was ready to throw up chunks as well but thankfully he kept everything down.

Akashi went over to Nebuya, "Nebuya? Can you still play?"

Nebuya made some grunt and moan noises as Akashi nodded until he sighed. "Nebuya has food poisoning…"

"YOU COULD UNDERSTAND HIM!?" Everyone shouted but Akashi ignored them all as he sighed heavily. "If we don't find another person for team three, they won't be able to play, is there anyone someone could call on short notice?" Akashi shouted to Kise who was warming up. "Kise! Try to see if you can get a hold of any of your teammates from Kaijō."

"I will try to get hold of someone." Kise said quickly as he took out of his phone but after a few moments he started to tear up. "No one is answering their phones… they're all hanging up… Kurokocchi!" Kise tried to cry on his friend's shoulder but was stopped short when Aomine, like Kagami, pushed him away by the face before the two blue hair teens went off to their court.

Akashi sighed as he saw everyone trying to get a hold of someone. Even Akashi tried to contact Mayuzumi but even he wasn't answering, more than likely getting everything packed up for his move for college. Akashi looked around to see if anyone has found someone to fill in but it didn't seem like that was the case. Akashi blinked, he noticed that Atsushi went missing but suddenly his head popped out of nowhere in the crowd, a prairie dog came to mind but suddenly he spotted a familiar girl next to Atsushi, she had a look of confusion on her face as Atsushi led her towards everyone and suddenly her green eyes met with his red eyes and her face contorted to a look of surprise.

"Ahhh it's you!"

Akashi was about to put Atsushi's actions into question when the next few words surprised him and the girl.

"I found team three's fifth member Aka-chin."


	7. Chapter 7

A few moments earlier...

Because of a Good Samaritan, Clara was able to get to the basketball courts without a fuss and by the looks of things she was able to get there before the first match even started. Clara sighed in relief as she looked up at a bulletin board and noticed there were sixteen teams, so that means there were eight matches in the first round, than four in the second and so on. So Clara just found an open spot near court one and two. She notice that there were four courts of course two were right in front of her side by side and the other two were several yards away, she could barely make out the players but she would move whenever she finds which team Murasakibara and Tatsuya were on. As Clara watched on she noticed Tatsuya making his way over to her.

"Inari! There you are!" Tatsuya sighed in relief. "Sorry, I guess Atsushi and I lost you back there…"

"No, it's my fault for getting ahead of myself, I forgot you two were in a hurry… I didn't cause you any trouble did I?" Clara was concerned that she caused more problems

Tatsuya smiled as he shook his head. "Of course not, Inari to tell you the truth I don't think you could cause trouble even if you tried."

Clara laughed as she shook her head. "Ohh Tatsuya… you're still getting to know me."

Both teenagers started to chuckle as Clara looked back out on the courts, the referees seemed to be getting ready for the first game while someone was brining over a score boards for both courts.

"So what team are you on Tatsuya? I see there are eight teams." Clara pointed at the bulletin board as Tatsuya nodded.

"Yes, there are only eight teams, from what I have heard from Akashi, the reason there are not many teams this year is because they're holding the tournament around where most of the seniors in high school are studying for colleges, so the numbers dropped, there are still junior tournaments that happened early this morning but for the high school, the numbers dropped but that is fine, more chances for my team to win." Clara chuckled along side Tatsuya. "Now for your question on which team I am on, I do not know yet." Tatsuya than pointed in a certain direction which Clara's eyes followed and she suddenly noticed Murasakibara with his back turned away from them.

"Oh! I see Murasakibara!" Clara said quickly.

"Yeah, you see Atsushi's old captain from middle school formed this whole get together, so we were able to round up twenty people to play BUT we didn't decide on who is going to be on whose team until today." Clara looked a little surprise.

"I assume you know everyone over there besides, you know, Murasakibara."

"Of course, I actually played against a few of them so it will be interesting who I get to play with and play against, you never know, you might see Atsushi and I against each other." Clara made an excited looking face as Tatsuya continued to explain. "So now that we have everyone together Akashi will be able to call out our teams."

"And I assume this Akashi is the old captain?" Tatsuya nodded to Clara's question. "Well that sounds like fun, almost wish I could join." She chuckled jokingly… well half jokingly, truth be told, sense Clara couldn't join the volleyball team she has had this pent up energy that she could not shake off and it was driving her nuts, that's why she had to buy a new volleyball that morning because her old one worn down and now because she got a basketball she hoped that would also help quench her sudden activity spurt.

"Actually you probably could, this is a co-ed. One or two of the other teams have a girl on their team." Tatsuya said matter of fact.

"Oh wow! That's exciting but..." Clara was about to say something further when she looked over to where Murasakibara was and noticed that a rather buff looking guy with blonde hair was fighting over something with another teen with a darker skin tone with dark navy blue hair, was he a ganguro? Anyways, Clara looked concerned as she looked to Tatsuya. "Uh oh, is something going on?"

Tatsuya looked over in the direction of his friends and laughed. "Oh… uh, your treats are actually a big hit over there, as soon as I put the box down everyone was eager to try some and it seemed that once they started they couldn't stop."

Clara gasped. "Are they liking the Honey Lemon slices?" Clara tried to see if she could spot the container but she didn't have the chance to look when she noticed that the two teenagers stopped fighting, they were kneeling down looking proper; did someone stop their bickering? Clara shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, I came over before they brought it out… what?" Tatsuya noticed that Clara had quite an evil look on her face.

"By the look on Murasakibara's face, I say they're enjoying them too much?" Clara chuckled. "That's what happens when you lie to me…"

"Yeesh… remind me not to get on your bad side." Tatsuya chuckled than he gasped lightly. "Ah I have to get back it seems, Atsushi is waving me over." Clara looked over to see Murasakibara waving lightly, Clara also waved to show she found her way and she saw Murasakibara wave a little longer.

"I will be cheering for you guys!" Clara called out to Tatsuya's retreating form as he cut across the courts.

Clara noticed there was an open spot in the front row of the bleachers, so she took her chance and sat down, she waited in anticipation and sure enough, she saw Tatsuya and four other high school students break away from their crowd and walked over to the court that was in front of Clara.

Clara smiles brightly, "Oh lucky!" She chuckled as she looked at each one of Tatsuya's teammates. The first one she took notice was a guy that was well over six feet tall, he had a scary face but whenever he smiled he brought a warmth that even made Clara burst into a smile, he kind of reminded her of Tatsuya in a small way. Sure enough Clara notice there was a small bond between Tatsuya and the red hair giant because they were mostly passing their practice ball at each other. Clara than noticed that one of the teammates broke away like he had been called over to Murasakibara and the rest, Clara noticed he was pretty tall as well, probably six foot also? She couldn't believe how many tall guys there was around in Murasakibara's group and this guy looked like he could be a professional model, his blonde hair was shiny yet delicate in the sunlight, he had a nice figure and a killer booty. Clara's eyes widen as she shook her perverted thoughts aside.

Clara turned her attention back over to where the blonde was and started to laugh when he looked a little upset, he looked like a child who was rejected from getting his candy and tried to find comfort in a light blue hair friend but the same darker skin tone teen pushed the guy away, he looked a little pissed, well both looked pissed and by the way things were going they might fight but thankfully Clara heard Tatsuya in front of her.

"Kise! Get over here, our match is starting!" Sure enough the two teams where in positions for the tip off and it looked like Tatsuya's dark red hair friend was going to do the task.

Clara turned back to the game and jumped slightly when she noticed a guy staring at her, his black eyes were sharp, he had a cute yet serious look on his face and suddenly… his face broke out in a… lovey dovey look? Clara blinked when he started talking to himself and points right towards Clara, who in turned looked around her and saw that there were several other cute girls in the audience, Clara sighed in relief, he must be pointing to his girlfriend but he soon got back into position when Kise finally came back over to the group.

Another blonde Clara noticed on Tatsuya's team looked like he was bugging the red head because he kept pointing at the other team. "What do you think Kagami? Think they're strong enough? Huh, huh? I am kind of excited."

"Ahhh, would you shut it already." This Kagami guy growled as he face down the opponent with a sharp glare but that glare really wasn't meant for him as much as it was for the blonde, who suddenly turned a little animalistic, he almost reminded her of a beast, in fact most of the guys on Tatsuya's team is beastly, except…

The only black hair teen looked like his focus was back on the stands, again he was talking to himself and trying to get the attention some someone until Kise came up to him to knock them back to reality.

Tip off commenced on the first game of the tournament.

~!~

As the ball flew straight into the air, Kagami and his opponent both shot straight up as well to meet with the ball but because of Kagami's powerful leg he was able to get the ball from his opponent and smack it towards Tatsuya. Tatsuya took hold of the basketball as his teammates jogged past him but he, himself slowly took his time while also keeping mind of the time he had with the ball. He wanted to make sure his teammates got into their positions and he wasn't surprised when they already were. Tatsuya shifted his focus between his teammates; right now their opponent was going into a zone defense. But he knew that wasn't going to work because the other team left a lot of holes and it only confirmed this when Kotaro from Rakuzan screened for Kagami. Tatsuya took that chance and passed it to his childhood friend to make a lovely lay up to the basket. The crowd applauded as the offense soon became the defense. The team gave each other high fives and fist bumps as they got into position.

"Whoooo! Go Tatsuya!"

Tatsuya felt his ear perk up at the mention of his name and looked over at Clara cheering and waving. He chuckled and waved back at her. Kise popped behind Tatsuya and looked over toward Clara.

"Ohhh, she's cute, who is she Himuro?" Kise asked with a smile as he waved at Clara as well, Tatsuya saw Clara looking confused for a second but she smiled and waved back, that was like her being friendly... Tatsuya thought he would have to keep an eye on her when Murasakibara wasn't around.

"She is a classmate of Atsushi and I, in fact she is the one who made all those treats for us." Tatsuya said calmly.

"What? You serious?" Kotaro popped up on the other side of Tatsuya and stared at Clara as well, she started to wave again. "Your snacks are freaking awesome!"

Tatsuya flinched from the loud voice near his ear but he noticed Clara's blush all the way from here and she gave them the thumbs up.

"Go all the way you Beasts!" She shouted causing the three who stood there to gap at their new team name.

Kagami shouted. "Oi! Am I the only one who is going to play?!"

That snapped the three out of their stupor and got back into the game.

"I kind of like Beasts, maybe Wild Beasts?" Kise laughed as he jogged into his defensive position and Kise actually proved his point as he charged forward in attempt to steal the ball but he missed by a second but was it planned? Because Kagami came from behind for both teens to corner the player with the ball and because of the huge amount of pressure he made a half ass attempt to pass and it was stolen by Kotaro who ran all the way down to make a lay up but at the last second he passed it to Moriyama when his chance of a lay up was blocked by the center of the other team.

Moriyama easily made a 2 pointer shot, making the Wild Beasts ahead by four in the first 20 seconds of the game and soon the score started to widen in the second 30 seconds, in the first minute and half the score was 16 to 3 and the point difference started to scare the opponent into making mistakes.

~!~

Clara noticed the change of Tatsuya's opponents, even though the game just started they began to crack down, there passes became more desperate and sloppy, they were able to get another few points in but the Wild Beasts were able to widen the gap further. Clara knew Tatsuya was good but to be this good almost seemed inhumane towards the other players but even so Clara couldn't help the excitement that she feels, she wanted to play, badly. Even though basketball isn't really her sport, just feeling the itch to play something nearly drove her onto the court to play against Tatsuya and his teammates.

Clara jumped when she felt someone bump into her slightly, she looked to her right to apologize but when she didn't see anyone eye level with her she looked down and saw two small children sit right next to her, they're both beaming with smiles as they waved their small flags about, it seemed they were cheering for Tatsuya's team as they pointed to each other players and started to talk about them. Clara could' t help the smile that formed on her face as she closely watched the children for another moment, the little boy seemed to want to play just as much as Clara did, actually Clara noticed a small medal around his neck, did he play in the junior tournament that happened earlier that morning? The little girl that Clara assumed was his sister was eyeing the golden medal with sparkles in her eyes.

Clara turned her attention back to the game as she heard the buzzer for the end of the first quarter, because it was a tournament instead of the usual ten minutes per quarter it was now five minutes because if it was full time like during an actual game, this tournament would go straight into the night, so each team had only two timeouts per game and only twenty minutes to win and the point difference was getting wider and wider by the second and it really drove the losing team bonkers.

Clara saw that Tatsuya's team was now on the defense and they were already into position, Clara noticed that they just started to break a sweat, which seemed to piss off the other team more. Clara hissed slightly because she knew that this team needed to calm down otherwise they will just keep losing more points to the Wild Beasts.

The opponent point guard started to jog down the small court with the ball, with some decent skill he was able to shuffle the ball between his legs and move to the right to avoid Moriyama and without so much as a warning he chucked the ball to the side toward his teammate but intended target didn't see it until it was too late, even Kotaro who was defending the guy didn't notice because he was busy keeping up with his own defense. The ball whizzed past the players who tried desperately to catch the ball but failed as the ball headed straight out of bounds and made a bee line towards Clara and the children to her right.

"Inari!"

Clara could barely hear Tatsuya as he shouted in her direction, she figured at the angle he was in it seemed she would get beamed with the leather ball but Clara knew the ball would hit the children before it even hit her. Clara's trained eye from volleyball narrowed into focus and out of pure instinct, her reflexes kicked in as she held out her hand, her hand jolt back ever so slightly when the ball made contact with her hand, making a nice noise between leather and flesh, Clara than used her other hand to full catch the ball in her grip and pull it to her chest, she let out a breath of air as she felt her adrenaline soar and it felt good. Clara blinked when she thought she felt stars hitting her in the face, she looked down and saw the two children stare up at her with admiration.

"WHOOOAAAA!" Clara laughed when she almost got knocked over by the two tots. "That was cool!" The little boy said with a slight lisp, while the little girl beamed with stars in her eyes.

~!~

Tatsuya's felt the color drain from his face when he saw that basketball fly at Clara with such strength and speed. Kotaro who was the closet wasn't going to make it and that made Tatsuya dash towards the sideline in hope he could reach it but it was no use as he saw the ball mere inches away.

SMACK!

Tatsuya closed his eyes waiting to hear a cry in the audience instead he heard children cheering, he looked up and saw Clara had the ball in her hands and the children staring up at her with lit up eyes, he sighed in relief when he saw Clara didn't get hit, he felt a tap on his shoulder as Kagami looked down at his friend.

"You missed a hell of a catch, does she play?"

Tatsuya shook his head. "Volleyball."

"Damn, those reflexes were nuts." Kagami turned to get into position for a sideline pass but before Tatsuya could get into position himself, his felt a chill run down his spine, over by the group, Tatsuya saw Atsushi and he looked pissed as he made his way over to Clara on the sidelines.

"Oh boy…"

"Tatsuya?" Tatsuya jumped slightly as he looked down as he saw Clara next to him with the basketball, she smiled gently at him. "You guys are creaming them, keep it up." She tossed him the ball skillfully before sitting back down with the children who in turn leaned in close to Clara, cheering for his team as well.

Tatsuya soon went back to the game with Kagami and the others and by the time he looked back over to where Clara was, she was gone, which caused his eyes to look to find Murasakibara and there standing next to him was Clara and she looked a little shocked about something. "What is going on?"

"Tatsuya!"

Tatsuya snapped out of it and sunk in a three point shot.

~!~

"What did you say?" Clara was left speechless from Murasakibara sudden statement and she had to question herself if she really did hear him correctly. He's joking right? RIGHT? Clara felt a wave of nerves make there way to her knees, causing them to shake.

"You will join the tournament." Murasakibara repeated with a dull tone but there was a twinkle in his eye, making Clara even more nervous. "Will there be a problem Aka-chin?"

Akashi shook his head. "Actually it wouldn't be but I don't want her to join if the others have a problem with it."

"If they do have a problem she can join our…" Clara thought she saw Murasakibara's lip curl into a smirk but that changed quickly back into a frown.

"No…" Akashi cuts off Murasakibara, it seemed to tick the taller teen off but Akashi held out a hand to stop his friend's anger. "My reason is because we really can't switch out because we already gave the roster to the officials and because they know Nebuya isn't well, so we can afford to replace him with Inari here."

Murasakibara looked stuck now, was it his intention of getting Clara on their team in the first place? But why? Why would he want Clara on their team? Either way Clara waved her hands about as she tried to get the others attention.

"But shouldn't you ask me for sure if I want to play? I mean have you tried everyone you know if they could come here to help?" Clara looked between the two. "I am sure I would just get in the way more than help, so I don't…"

"If Atsushi is able to speak highly of you than you must have some kind of talent." Akashi cuts Clara off as well causing the girl to feel her heart quicken as she looked up at Murasakibara than she moved her attention back to Akashi. "Besides, we have tried to call everyone we know, but no one is answering and those who would have been able to help wouldn't be able to make it on time."

"Uh… than what about..." Clara couldn't think of any more excuses, she couldn't even use her clothing as an excuse because she changed into knee length shorts and a regular shirt before she and Murasakibara left her apartment to come back to the shopping district, so she shrugged her shoulders, still looking worried. "I will join as long as everyone else on the team is okay with it! But I..."

"Inari?!"

Clara jumped when she heard her name in an excited tone; she looked over her shoulder and gasped at what she saw. Coming towards her and the others were none other than the two guys she met that very morning. "Ahh! Takao? Midorima?" Clara spun on her heel to face the two; she smiled brightly as she looked back to Murasakibara and Akashi to make introductions. "I met these two this morning when I was out shopping, this is…"

"Inari, we know these two, they're actually part of the tournament as well, Midorima is on team three while Takao is part of team four… which by the way, are you not starting?" Akashi turned with a stern eye to the darker hair student, his blue eyes lit up in both realization and fear as he spun on his heel.

"That's right! Sorry, Inari! I will talk to you later!" He smiles as he started to run off towards court he would be playing at but before he got too far ahead he turned while waving. "By the way your snacks are freaking amazing! Even Midorima was pigging out!"

"You talk too much Takao!" Midorima shouted at Takao's retreating form as he blushed madly but than he saw Clara staring at him with a smile. "They're not bad…" He grumbled as he adjusted his glasses causing Clara to smile more brightly at the hidden praise.

Clara felt a shiver run down her spine; she looked up at Murasakibara and saw him twitched slightly when he saw the interaction between Clara and Midorima. She could almost feel his anger rising and it seemed to intensify when it looked like he remembered something even more unpleasant as he looked to Clara. "You met this morning?" The violet hair teen looked to Midorima and noticed something, Clara turned to see what her classmate was seeing and she gasped, the green hair player had bandages on his fingertips, but before she could check to see if he was okay, Murasakibara's voice became low and dangerous. It sent an even bigger chill run down her spine. "How… did you exactly meet?"

Clara looked concerned as she stepped a little closer to her classmate. "Murasakibara?"

Midorima didn't flinch at Murasakibara's sudden mood swing as he explained the events of that morning. "I was almost hit by a bike this morning and Inari here actually went out of her way and helped me…" Midorima looked to Clara with a soft expression, "But because of that help she got hurt in the process, but either way I am grateful for her, other wise you guys will be seeing me in a hospital bed right now."

Clara blushed heavily as she waved her hands about. "It wasn't… I mean to say is…" Clara stuttered but the look on Midorima's face really showed his gratitude and so all Clara could do at that moment was smile and accept it. "You're welcome… I just… did it out of instinct."

For a second Clara thought she saw Akashi's expression change ever so slightly, before he looked at her with uncertainty, like he knew she wouldn't be much use in a game but now, he looked at, no he was observing her as he listened in on to the story. Or was it something else, either way she felt his attitude toward her has changed, but Clara pushed that aside as she and Midorima continued to talk.

Clara gently took the other teen's hand in her and frowns lightly. "You did get hurt huh?" Clara felt a feeling of helplessness wash over her as she looked up at him with sad eyes.

A blush slowly crept to Midorima's cheeks as he snapped his hand back, "This is nothing, I normally wrap my left hand fingers."

Clara felt a wave of relief. "Oh good."

~!~

Murasakibara continued to watch Clara and Midorima interact with each other and it kind of pissed him off. His fists were clenched, knuckles turning white and this painful jab he felt in his chest would not go way, no matter how hard he tried to push the emotion down. Murasakibara wanted to yell at Midorima, he wanted to tell him he should have man up and took the bike head on or at least watch his damn surroundings. But when Murasakibara looked to Clara, she didn't seem concerned at all that she has gotten hurt from helping him, she was more concerned if Midorima was hurt and after it happened, Clara didn't look like she even cared when her hand was beat red and probably stinging from catching that stray basketball. Murasakibara knew in the pit of his stomach that Clara would probably break her own leg to make sure someone else didn't get hurt and some reason… he liked that about her… even if it did piss it him off that she would go out of her way to do things like that. Murasakibara sighed as he went up to Midorima and pointed at him with a glare causing the other former Teiko student to glare back.

~!~

"Next time I won't be so forgiving, Mido-chin..." Murasakibara growled out as he turned to stomp off like a child going into timeout, leaving Clara blinking in slight confusion at what he said but she turned her attention back to Midorima who was growling towards the treating teenager but he soon snapped out his anger as he looked towards Clara with his own confused expression.

"By the way, what are you doing here Inari?" Midorima turned to wait for her answer.

Clara chuckled nervously as she looked to Akashi as he answered for her. "She is planning on taking Nebuya's place on your team."

"Are you sure about this Akashi?" Midorima looked slightly shocked by Akashi's decision of having Clara on his team, Clara saw Midorima stole a glance at her. Clara still looked nervous about the whole thing, however memories of that morning flashed in Midorima's mind, he remembered her reflexes where even greater than his at that moment in time because usually he would have been able to avoid things like that oncoming bike easily but was it because he lost his lucky item that was the reason he reacted slowly? Or was it truly because Clara would bring him luck because of her Aries horoscope? Or did Clara just have some kind of hidden talent? Either way he was curious, especially if Akashi sees something in her. "In the end, I don't see a problem with it…"

Midorima saw Clara's mouth opened wide for a moment but she recovered quickly as she nervously looked up at him and just stared with concern on her face. "But are you sure? I don't want to be in the way…"

"You won't be…" Midorima looked directly in Clara's own green eyes with his and for some reason he knew he was telling the truth, which surprised him slightly.

"Don't worry about it Cookie." Murasakibara appeared behind Clara after he cooled down, it was amazing how fast his mood could change in a blink. Murasakibara rest his hand on top of her shoulder, the sudden gesture made Clara look up towards Murasakibara and Midorima witnessed the taller teen shove something into Clara's mouth. Clara looked really confused but than her face twisted into a blissful like state as she groaned slightly, it must have been one of her treats that she brought with, even Midorima had to admit how tasty those snacks where and he usually didn't eat sweets. "If we didn't want you to play we wouldn't have brought you over here…"

Midorima watch Clara's expression changed from worry to full on confidence, once she was done eating whatever was in her mouth she made a fist bump in the air, like she was ready to face the world. "Okay… I will do it!" Clara smiled as she started to do some regular stretches to get herself warmed up. Midorima continued to be slightly impressed because she was doing all the right kind of stretches, he watched her start with her triceps as she pulled her elbow behind and across her head while pulling down and she did the same with her other arm. Than she did a supraspinatus stretch, then a Gluteal and Lumbar rotation stretch, next a adductor stretch and so on and so forth. Once she was done Clara started to lightly jump up and down to keep loose.

Suddenly Clara caught him and Murasakibara staring at her and for some reason Midorima felt his cheek burning as his mind started to envision her moving in slow motion as she stood up straight from finishing stretching on the ground, her eyes where focused, strands of hair framed her face in a cute manner and her lips were slightly parted… Midorima finally couldn't take it as he marched passed Clara, beat red in the face.

"I am gonna tell the others what is going on!" He shouted as he left the three behind.

~!~

Clara went into a state of confusion after Midorima went past her and toward their team, she looked back up to Murasakibara and saw he had a far off look in his eyes and with a slight blush tinting his cheeks. Clara snapped her fingers in front of Murasakibara's face trying to snap him out of his stupor and it worked as he looked around and than stared down at her.

"What? Imagining those sugar cookies again?" Clara chuckled as she went back to do more stretches on her arms.

Murasakibara looked off to the side as he mumbled. "Yeah… cookies…"

Clara looked over to Akashi and saw he had an amused smile on his lips. "Inari, your up coming match is on court…"

Soon there was a thunderous applause, all three looked and saw that Tatsuya's game was over and done with. Tatsuya is seen giving Kagami a high five, and every single one of them all had bright big smiles on their faces. Kotaro flung himself onto Kise and Moriyama as they started to walk off the court. Clara tried to see what the final score was and her eyes grew big, he had to rub her eyes just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. 105 to 25. Clara looked to Murasakibara.

"Geez Tatsuya is good…"

"It wasn't just him, he also had four strong players, three are Forwards and another shooter, it's kind of hard to go up against such a powerful offense…" Murasakibara stated clearly and it wasn't in his usual dull out voice either, his projected respect yet caution in his voice that Clara figured it was because he would have to go up against them soon. Clara saw that Akashi nodded in agreement but they both had a look of excitement in their eyes, like they themselves almost can't wait to go up against them.

Clara looked to the bracket and saw she and her team are up next on the court Tatsuya and his team was just playing on. "Well… I guess I better get going huh?" Clara took a deep breath and made her way towards Midorima and the rest of her teammates, but it seemed ever step she took the more nervous she got but before she could take another step forward she felt a hand grasping her head. She looked up to see Murasakibara staring down at her with a smile.

They didn't exchange any words they just stared at each other and it seemed to calm Clara down for some reason because soon she smiled back and she raised her hand up, Murasakibara gave her a high five and some reason, that five made Clara's eyes focused and walk more confidently towards her teammates nonetheless she still had some nerves.

Clara saw Tatsuya was coming towards her in a light jog he looked a little concerned. "I heard from Midorima you're playing… will you be okay?"

Clara chuckled. "As I will ever be…" Even though her voice was a little shaky Clara did feel a lot better than when she first started out, Clara held up her hand, gesturing for a high five. "For luck?"

Tatsuya looked a little confused but soon smiled gently and both their hands smacked together. Clara than took off towards the court where the others were waiting for her. As she got closer she felt like a pipsqueak compared to all the other taller teens. Clara even noticed that three out of the five of them were wearing glasses, Clara chuckled to herself as she stood a little bit closer to Midorima, sense she knew him more than the others.

Midorima than called the other three to join him and Clara for a moment for introductions. Clara than really did feel like a pipsqueak when the other three surrounded her, she felt like these four could easily start to push her around in a circle like those bullies did to the nerds in movies. The short silence was broken when one of the players with glasses introduced himself first, his narrowed black eyes showed a serious attitude but when he spoke his voice was shaking… was he nervous around Clara or was that her imagination?

"Just because you are a girl doesn't mean I won't hit you if you do something wrong." Clara noticed a blush creeping to the guy's cheek but Clara knew he was serious about this threat.

"Don't worry, I will do my best and more!" Clara smiled brightly, "I am Clara Inari… and I will be your fifth member."

"Junpei Hyūga."

Clara looked to another student with glasses on as well, but his hair was longer and more messy than Hyūga's hair and he seemed to squint his eyes more than have them opened giving Clara a certain uneasy feeling about him like he is always calculating his next move or words and that uneasiness worsened when he smirked a little wider. "Shoichi Imayoshi, it will be interesting to see how long you last."

Clara didn't back down. "I hope to surprise you than…" At least that's what Clara hopes to do; she was already self-conscious about joining.

"My, my… everyone is being so mean, leave the little cutie alone…" Besides Clara this other person was the only one who didn't wear glasses and his dark hair was longer than both Imayoshi and Hyūga's. The teen drapes an arm across Clara's shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. "Don't mind him cutie, once he gets playing he will forget about you, because he is more of an individual player but I'm Reo Mibuchi, nice to meet you."

Imayoshi snickered. "Well, he isn't wrong…"

Clara ignored what Imayoshi mumbled because she actually felt more relaxed with this other player near by, like an older brother, or maybe an older sister? "Nice to meet you too."

"Now that we have that out of the way…" Imayoshi clearly cut through going into captain mode. "Let's discuss a little bit of our strategy, we're mainly a shooting team, meaning Inari and I will do most of the drive in plays, think you can manage that?"

Clara nodded.

"So if you see any of these three open, give them the ball quickly for them to sink in a three and than…"

Clara cuts Imayoshi off. "I got it… Don't worry, despite what you think of me, I have played before…" Even though Clara said that she only played basketball for maybe a few years until volleyball became more of her sport but she didn't want to worry about that now, but she will just have to work her damnedest out there to get a little recognition from her team, she wasn't sure if Midorima was comfortable having her on their team but again she tried to push the self-doubt aside though it was difficult as she continued to warm up.

Just as warm up were coming to a close Clara heard snickering behind her, she turned to see her opponents trying not to laugh in her direction but soon they couldn't contain it anymore and started laughing out loud.

"Oh man! Maybe you guys should quit while you are ahead! There is no way you can win with a weak looking girl on your team, I mean it just doesn't seem fair." The five continued to laugh. The five continued to make belittling comments towards Clara, she also noticed that the others were not falling for their rude comments but maybe that is because the comments are not directly aimed at them.

Surprisingly Clara felt calm… or as calm as an angered chick could feel! She felt a vein ready to pop near her temple as the last bit of self-doubt Clara felt drained from her body as she gently tossed the basketball to Imayoshi, who than looked to her as she held a dark expression on her face, eyeing up her prey. "I am going to kick their asses…"

~!~

Imayoshi didn't know exactly what Midorima was playing at letting a girl on their team. From what he saw during their warm up Clara was an average player, with average shots and passes, which were weak but be as it may, he also felt some kind of hidden potential in the girl and it seemed to come to surface when she declared she was going to kick their opponent's ass after their taunting.

Hyūga took position at the tip off. Soon the ball was shot up in the air to go into play. Unfortunately the basketball went to the other team, "Get back and man up." Hyūga shouted for his teammates to hear. As the opponent point guard slowly came down the court, everyone noticed that even though Clara's opponent was a little taller than her, they could clearly see she was able to handle the guy on her own. Her hands were raised and she left little room for the guy to get by, which impressed Imayoshi that she could keep up.

The ball went to the opposite side of Clara's position and than made it's way back around to the point guard. Despite being a shooting team, their defense put a huge amount of pressure on the opponent, causing them to only pass the ball around. Soon the point guard couldn't hold the ball anymore or he would risk a foul so he turned to pass to towards the guy Clara was defending against but the ball never reached the guy's hand as Clara made a mad dash at the ball, stealing it with her one outstretched hand and began to dribble down the court in an amazing sprinting speed. However, her opponent soon caught up with her and the ball. Again, however before they could steal the ball back, like that sudden mad dash for the steal Clara immediately stopped dead in her tracks, making her opponents, Imayoshi and Mibuchi pass her before they knew she even stopped. Clara than side ways bounced the ball to Midorima who than took that moment to sink in a three point shot. The net made a lovely swish noise as the ball passed through.

The opponent stared dumbfounded at the shot it self but they looked to Clara who had a dangerous look about her face. "You guys just brought out the bitch in me… I hope you're ready…" She cracked her knuckles as she turned on her heels to head back to her defensive position.

Imayoshi looked more impressed than the others but soon that surprise turned into a chuckle as he made his way back down to the other side of the court. "Man… I need to stop underestimating people…"

Midorima who was more towards the basket on Clara's side gave her a pat on the shoulder before getting back into position. "Keep that up Inari."

Clara looked back to Midorima and nodded. "You got it!" Clara finally felt that her energy would finally not be wasted anymore, as she got ready to defend the basket once more.

"Bring it…"

~!~

 **This** **has got to be the most _difficult_ chapter I have _ever_ had to write!** I probably re-wrote this chapter over ten times maybe close to twenty because it kept going into a direction that I wasn't happy with! And also I am trying to keep the spirit of everyone's original personality from the original source and not just write it into another mary sue kind of story... which I hope it hasn't already! haha! Either way! I hope you enjoyed chapter 7 and see you next time! :D

And thank you for everyone has has left reviews, added my story to their favorites and/or follow list! I feel the love from everyone! Thank you so much! :D

-internet hugs-


	8. Chapter 8

"Sorry!" Sakurai cried out as he made another two point shot by the free throw line.

"Oh my god! Do you say ANYTHING else besides sorry?!" Yukio Kasamatsu from Kaijō seemed to regret those words when Ryō Sakurai of Tōō once again started to apologize but he didn't just stop at saying sorry he started to sprout on about how he was sorry to be alive, that he shouldn't have the right to play basketball with these four exceptional players. Kasamatsu had to put a hand over the timid boy's mouth. "Okay… I got it… calm down and get back to the game!"

Sakurai shook slightly from the glare as he turned to sprint back to his position while screaming yet another apology.

Kasamatsu sighed as he jogged back to his own defensive position. "Thank god he is good at shooting…"

Kasamatsu was ready to defend but he shifted his eyesight to the first two courts, there was another round of applause and the former Kaijō captain could make out Midorima and Imayoshi. Kasamatsu turned back to the game when suddenly his eyes snapped back to the court with Midorima. "Is… that a girl on their team?"

"Huh?" Kasamatsu looked over his shoulder and saw Daiki Aomine look over towards the courts but the darker skin tone teen could only see his former Captain and former Teiko teammate. "I think you have been studying too hard Kasamatsu." Aomine swiftly stole the ball from the opponent and chucked the ball down the court for Tetsuya Kuroko to catch it, to which he dribbled down to make a lay up. "Ahh! Tetsu!"

Even though Kuroko was better at shooting from a distance now than he did in his junior year, he still had problems with lay up shots, so Aomine took that chance to make a nice slam-dunk.

"You did that on purpose didn't you Tetsu?" Aomine smirked as he stared down at Kuroko who had a smile of his own.

"I don't know what you are talking bout Aomine." The two reunited friends shared a fist bump as they jogged back down to go on the defense again, leaving their opponents panting from exhaustion and defeat as the final buzzer goes off.

"Ah, over already?" Takao smirked as he put his hands to his hips. "Man… I was only able to score a few times… you kept hogging the ball Aomine… And YOU!" Takao pointed at the sweaty Kuroko. "You kept giving him the ball!"

"I did pass it to everyone else." Kuroko defended.

Takao sighed as he chuckled. "Well… when the time comes we will all need to be good and ready because the next rounds… are gonna be crucial.

"I'm sorry!"

The four other teammates looked to Sakurai as he apologized again out of the blue.

"Ahhh! Would you shut up already!" Kasamatsu shouted only to make Sakurai apologize again. "Okay… okay… let's just see how the other's are doing okay?" Kasamatsu looked exhausted and it wasn't because of the game they just finished.

The four took their towels and water bottles as they make their way over to their rest spot during the tournament, as they made their way over team four noticed that Akashi's team that consisted of himself, Murasakibara, Izuki, Wakamatsu and finally Hayakawa, who was smacking his face until his cheeks were pinkish-red.

"Ahhhh! I'm gonna do it! I'm soooo gonna do it!" His screeched out as he pointed at his teammates. "I'm gonna tly leall hald! Seliousry! Ret's go!"

Kasamatsu chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Man he is still hyperactive as ever…"

"And he really does pronounce his 'R's with 'L's…" Takao started to snicker. "And he does it vise versa too." He snickered a little more.

"He may have speaking problems but he's no joke.." With admiration in his voice Kasamatsu defended his former power forward.

Takao could only smile as he stared at Kasamatsu than he looked up in wonder. "Hmm… I wonder… who do we go up against next?

"Looks like it will be Midorima's team." Kuroko pointed to the bulletin board.

Takao snickered. "Ohhh! I will get my revenge match against him finally!" Takao made a double fist pump. "Come on, let's check out the last few minutes of their game!"

"Ahhh, you guys go on ahead… I am gonna go and lie down for a bit." Aomine yawned as he went in the opposite direction where the grass and trees were calling his name and no one even bothered to stop him. "Tetsu, wake me up when it's time to play again!"

Kuroko's monotone cut through the air like a knife. "I am not your alarm clock."

Aomine chuckles as he continues to walk away, so the other four go and join everyone else at the side lines but as the four got closer, the players on Midorima's team became more clearer and Kasamatsu's eyes widen.

"I knew I saw a girl playing…" Kasamatsu muttered causing Takao to turn his head towards the game after seeing the surprised look on Kasamatsu's face. Takao's expression shifted from wonder to shock, his eyes were saucers as he watched Clara Inari playing against guys almost twice her size.

"EHHHHHH?! What is going on here?!" The fourth team finally got to where Kagami's team stood.

Kise was watching the game with a smile on his face as he nibbled on a Honey Lemon slice. Moriyama was gazing at another girl, who was in the stands, something about dedicating the next match to her or something, while Tatsuya and Kagami both watched alongside Kise. Kotaro was dribbling the ball while watching; he couldn't sit still as the game went on. Kise looked up from the game, when he saw his former captain he smiled as he stood up.

"Hey! How did your game go?" Kise looked to Kasamatsu with a smile as the two Kaijō students went into their own little conversation.

Takao ignored the model as he marched up to Kagami and Tatsuya; the two childhood friends stared back at the aghast student.

Just as Kagami was about to question the point guard he felt a presence beside him, he craned his head to the side to see light blue hair come out of nowhere and the sudden appearance made the giant red head jump but that surprise turned into a scowl. Soon Kagami had Kuroko's head in a tight grip. "It still amazes me how I am still not used to this…"

"Kagami! What is Inari doing out there?" Takao ignored the exchange between the light and shadow to once again ask about the situation with Clara playing in the tournament but it wasn't Kagami who answered the shocked Shūtoku.

"She is filling in for Nebuya…" Tatsuya spoke out as he gestured behind them towards the benches where everyone's belongings were. There laying on the grass as a passed out Nebuya, with a towel over his head, the Rakuzan student made a loud and obnoxious burp causing some passerby to cringe in disgust.

"What?! That is no excuse! Look at who she's up against!" Takao pointed to the opponents who were all taller and bigger than Clara. "Shouldn't you guys have been against this?! She is a girl after all."

"Hmm? What about it?" Tatsuya and Kagami, who has since calmed down, gave a look of confusion, like they just couldn't understand why Clara couldn't play.

"It's no use…" Kuroko's voice piped up while light patting his shriveled hair down. "When Kagami and Tatsuya both lived in American they had a female coach who taught them everything they know today and from what I have heard from Kagami, she is a retired WNBA."

Alexandria Garcia popped in both Kagami and Tatsuya's mind as they continued to watch the game again, however Takao was still nervous as they watched along side tehm. But it didn't seem he need to worry too much as Midorima's team were up by over thirty points and it is widening by the second. Moreover as Takao continued to watch he sees that Clara was actually pulling her weight for the team however it was soon replaced with worry.

Takao looked towards the group again. "I just remembered, she hurt her knees pretty badly not too long ago, is she going to be alright?"

"She seems to be doing fine, she hasn't complained about her knees..." The group once again witnessed Clara steal the ball just as it was being passed between players. "Her steals are pretty amazing…" Kagami said with praise in his voice. "So far any passes made by her she has been able to steal it."

Clara clutched the ball in her hands after her current steal but instead of driving the ball down the court she immediately passed it to Imayoshi as both teams ran down to the other side of the court. Imayoshi's quick footwork got him to pass his defender but just as his guard came after him he passed it back to Midorima who than made another beautiful three point shot. Clara wipes a bit of sweat off her brow as she went back on the defensive, this time she was a little back, away from her opponent.

"What is her shooting average?" Takao soon forgot about his fear for Clara as he began to see she wasn't doing too badly in fact he had a look of amazement on his face after witnessing Clara snatch the ball from the other team; Takao tore his eyes away from the game as he looked between Kagami and Tatsuya.

But the two didn't look at Takao as he asked his question however they chuckled in amusement which only caused Takao to look at them in confusion, he arched his eyebrow.

"What?"

There was another round of cheers, snaping Takao's attention back to the game just as Clara once again stole the ball to make her way down the court, running at a fast sprint, than she stopped just a few feet away from the basket to take a shot and as she did, she looked so focused in the sunlight, she had determination in her eyes, she almost seemed to be glowing. She looked like a basketball player from the WNBA, either way Takao was impressed… until the ball literally went flying OVER the basket. The whistle blew loud as the crowd began to snicker.

Takao went ridged as he shouted. "Don't look so freaking cool when you attempt to make shots if you're just gonna miss!" Takao shouted as he shook his fist in the air.

~!~

Takao's shouts didn't reach Clara as Hyūga came up behind her and did a karate chop down on her head, she squealed as she rubbed her head.

"Idiot! We told you to just pass it to us!" Hyūga shouted as he put his hands to his hips.

Clara pouted as she looked to the side. "But I wanna shoot too.."

Imayoshi came over to the two. "Now, now no more fighting…" His attention turned to Clara, with his ever-devilish grin on his face. "Nevertheless he is right… your shooting skills are horrendous… leave the shooting to us…"

Clara felt like her pride being pierced by an arrow from Imayoshi's blunt words because she suddenly looked sullen. Midorima came over to Clara and her demeanor seemed to lighten as she smiled up at the greenhead. Whatever Midorima said made Clara bounce back as she jogged down the court to defend once again. But as the game went on the score gap only grew and grew until the final buzzer kicked in. Team three, now deemed Shooting Glass, came to a close, with the team winning with 87 to 35.

Clara wipes droplets of sweat off her brow with her sleeve as she took a deep breath. "Oh my…. that was invigorating…" She laughed lightly as she stretched her arms but as soon as she took a step towards her team a white hot flash of pain shot up her knees as the adrenaline started to drain from her body causing her knees to sore up. Clara looked down as she felt her knees shaking; she worked her knees so hard that she spotted some blood and drainage seeping through her bandages.

Clara took a deep breath as she smiled to mask her pain she felt in her knees, she lightly jogged up to her team and gave them all a high five. "That was fun!" She laughed as she tried not to put too much weight on her knees but as she shifted her weight it only caused her to feel more pain, thankfully no one seemed to notice as the five of them made their way over to the rest of the group, there Clara was able to meet another member of the Generation of Miracles, Ryōta Kise. Clara felt her cheeks burning slightly from how attractive Kise was.

"Nice going out there Clara, oh, do you mind if I call you Clara?" Kise has a big grin on his face as he inched slightly closer; Clara smiles back as she shook her head.

Clara smiles as she shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all." Than she gasped as she looked at everyone. "How is everyone enjoying the food I brought?" Clara jumped when she felt hands touch her shoulders she looked behind her and saw both Hyūga and Imayoshi looking at her with smiles on their faces actual genuine smiles and not the fake, 'you suck at this game' kind of belittling smile.

"You may not be the world's greatest player but you certainly are a great cook." Imayoshi said while nibbling on a rice ball, he made a wide smile as he turned to walk away. "Mmmm… Eel and rice do make the best combination…"

"Hey… how did the conversation get away from me?" Kise asked but was suddenly interrupted by Hyūga.

And Hyūga looked like he was ready to cry as he gave her the thumbs up. "Maybe you could give lessons to our coach, she needs some guidance!"

Clara laughed gently. "I don't know about teaching but I can give your friend some tips and recipes."

Kagami looked to Clara as he chewed on a homemade protein bar as well. "I am interested in these, Tatsuya said they're actually protein bars?" Tatsuya nodded as he took a swig of his water bottle.

"Yeah, my mom found the recipe for me while I was in volleyball in middle school, I would make it before a game for everyone, they're very easy to make." Clara smiled brightly as she and Kagami were suddenly talking about different snacks that they both have made over the years.

Clara gasped as she brought out a notebook, from somewhere and began to jot down notes. "Wow! I never thought to use those spices in that way!" Clara and Kagami were sitting by each other as Clara continued to write down notes.

"You look like you're having fun Cookie…"

Clara and Kagami both looked up when they heard a somewhat agitated voice. Clara smiled brightly while Kagami flinched slightly, unbeknownst to Clara; Murasakibara was giving Kagami a rather scary glare.

"I am! We won in our game and now Taiga here is giving me some recipes he has done!" Clara giggled gently as she held up the notebook she wrote her notes in. "I almost can't wait to try them out."

Murasakibara seemed to relax at Clara's cheerfulness as he sat down on the ground near Clara. "Ahhh… I am tired…" He pouted as he looked up at Clara. "Can I have a cookie?"

Clara laughed gently as she reached back and picked up several pieces of treats for Murasakibara and handed them to him.

~!~

Kagami watched the two Yōsen students talk amongst themselves for a moment longer before realizing he has become the third wheel in the conversation or at least Murasakibara isn't giving him an inch to speak, so with that in mind Kagami got up from his spot and made his way back to Tatsuya and Kise who have been in their own little conversation. Tatsuya was the first to notice Kagami coming over; the darker redhead teen gave his friend a small smile.

"What happened?" Tatsuya chuckled as he asked in a sarcastic kind of tone as he tossed a basketball Kagami who than started to make it spin on his finger tip.

Kagami laughed along side his childhood friend as they watched Murasakibara and Clara interact a little bit more, it seemed they even moved a little bit closer to each other since Kagami left but it also could be that Murasakibara was trying to reach past Clara to grab more of the cookies she brought but all he got was a homemade protein bar in his mouth. Tatsuya laughed as he witnessed the small events.

"I knew this year would be interesting, but this went past my expectations." Tatsuya continued to chortle to himself.

"Hmmm? How did you figure that?" Kise asked as took a swig of his water.

Tatsuya finished a swig of his own as he looked to the blonde, "Around the time I have met her Clara made a bet with Atsushi, she said that if she could beat him in a five point game of basketball Atsushi would have to stop calling her 'Cookie' and call her by her name, well Atsushi wasn't interested because you know there wasn't anything in it for him... so..." Tatsuya laughed. "She said if she lose she would bake him more cookies."

Kise spits out his water in a spray as he laughed, "That is the worst thing to say to that guy." Kise continued to laugh as he coughed up some water that went down his wind pipe.

"I told Clara what he was capable of but she wouldn't listen, she went ahead and still done it... she lost of course... but..." Tatsuya smiles as he looked back. "I haven't really seen him this happy before."

"That's because of the treats she is giving him..." Kagami stated bluntly as he finished off his protein bar.

"Hmmm... I wonder if that is true..." Tatsuya still had a warm smile on his face. "Well.. we will find out soon enough."

~!~

Akashi's team won by forfeit before the third quarter even ended. It wasn't an easy task to go up against two powerful centers; two point guards with amazing strategy and prediction skills, and finally a loud yet powerful forward. Both Hayakawa and Wakamatsu were shouting out their after victory, the two even shared a couple of high fives as they both did a cheers with their water bottles.

Akashi watched Murasakibara make beeline towards Clara after the giant saw her talking to Kagami, making Murasakibara less than happy. Akashi watched in mild interest as Clara handed him some treats for him to eat, which made the giant smile softly. Once he was done observing Akashi strolled over to Midorima and Imayoshi who were both discussing about their next match up with Aomine and Kuroko, Midorima notice the bright redhead first.

"Ahh Akashi… I see you won your match." Midorima gestured towards the bulletin board just as it was changing.

"Yes and I see you have as well…" Akashi looked over to where Clara was again and the two members of Shooting Glass looked over as well. "So, what do you think?"

Midorima looked to Akashi who waited patiently for Clara's performance results but Midorima re-adjusted his glasses. "Sorry Akashi… but I am not going to indulge you with an answer…"

Akashi blinked in surprise at Midorima's commanding voice but Akashi smiled with fire in his eyes. "I guess I will just have to see in your next match than won't I?" Akashi chuckled as he turned to head over to check on Nebuya but as he walked by the table with all the snacks Akashi quickly took a few cookies and chewed on a Lemon slice.

"Hmm… I was sure you were going to tell him… because of you history with him."

"Just because he and I went to the same school and played on the same basketball team doesn't mean I don't want to beat him… besides.." It seemed Midorima moved his head in just the right spot because a sun caught a glare in his glasses making Midorima a little more devious. "I want revenge from last year's Winter Cup… so he needs to stay in the dark as long as possible… especially if there is a chance we will go up against him after defeating Aomine and Kuroko…" Midorima than turned back to Imayoshi with a serious look on his face. "Now… back to our discussion before…"

Imayoshi grinned wickedly as the two continued their discussion before Akashi joined in.

~!~

At that moment Aomine opened his eyes slightly as he looked around his surroundings. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You're at the Shopping District near Yōsen High.." Kuroko's voice rang out causing Aomine to roll away bit.

"Jeez Tetsu… I thought I was used to that by now…" Aomine chuckled lightly as he sat up with his back against a tree. "So? How did everyone do?"

"All four teams are in the quarterfinals." Kuroko held out a sheet with a bracket on it. "Akashi are up against Kagami's team while we are up against Midorima's."

Aomine snickered. "What is with these names they came up with? Wild Beasts? Well considering both Kagami, Kise and Kotaro are on the that team it seems to match… but Shooting Glass?" Aomine sighed as he handed the paper back to Kuroko as he stretched. "Is our game about to start than?"

"Yeah, we're on court one and two, now that it just four teams they combined the courts." Kuroko watched Aomine stand up.

"Well, that will make things a little more interesting, I hope." He yawned again. "Man… I can't believe Satsuki got me to come… I could be reading my lovely Horikita Mai-chan magazine right now.." He yawned again but looked down as he saw a sad smile on Kuroko's face, Aomine sighed as he pat Kuroko's head. "But playing with you again is even better."

The two smirked at each other as Aomine held out a hand to Kuroko, "Let's show moss head not to mess with us." Aomine smirked as he drape an arm around Kuroko's shoulders as they made their way to the group, as they weaved in between the people Aomine was struck by a thought. "Ah, that's right, Nebuya got sick right?"

Kuroko looked to Aomine.

"Who did they get to replace him?"

"I am not familiar with her, I think she goes to the same school with Murasakibara and Tatsuya." Kuroko said gently as they continued to make their way.

"Ahhh, I see." They continued to walk and suddenly Aomine stopped dead in his tracks, Kuroko walked a little bit ahead. Did… Did Tetsu say 'she' and 'her'?! Aomine looked back to his blue hair comrade, not really believing if he heard correctly. "She?"

Kuroko nodded.

"EHHH?!" Aomine than looked bummed. "Man… how am I supposed to get pumped up going against a girl…?"

"Momoi will kick your ass if she heard you."

The pink hair girl came to mind and it made Aomine shudder. "Well that's different… Momoi can actually play if she wanted to…" Aomine sighed. "Oh well… maybe Midorima and Imayoshi will make it interesting for me…"

Just as the two blue heads reached the rest of the group the MC for the tournament went out to the middle of the court and pointed towards the audience causing them to go in an uproar.

 _ **"WELCOME EVERYONE! BEFORE WE START THE QUARTER FINALS! LET'S INTRODUCE OUR FOUR AMAZING, CRAZY TEAMS! WE HAVE TEAM WILD BEASTS!"**_

The announcer pointed right to Kagami, Tatsuya, Kise, Kotaro and Moriyama grouping together, both Kise and Kotaro waved to the cheering crowds while Kagami looked away feeling slightly embarrassed, Tatsuya chuckled as he gave his friend a pat on the back while finally Moriyama was once again dedicating the game to another girl in the stands.

 ** _"NEXT WE HAVE TEAM HYPE!"_**

Akashi blushed as he looked to Hayakawa with an annoyed tone in his voice. "Did you really have to give us that name?"

"Of coulse! Because we ale the Hype!" Hayakawa stated proudly as he smacked his cheeks before making a fist bump. Izuki suddenly thought of a pun and started to write in his notebook, it was drowned out by the crowds but Wakamatsu caught wind of it and started snickering.

"Oh man that was bad…" The blonde wipes a single tear away.

"Ahhh… this is bothersome…" Murasakibara stood near Akashi as he nibbled on some potato chips but instead of looking absentmindedly had a spark in his eye.

 _ **"TEAM THREE IS THE SHOOTING GLASS!"** _

Aomine once again scoffed at the name but he still looked over to his former captain's team. Imayoshi looked devilish as always and it seemed he had his sights right at Aomine, and more than likely Imayoshi will mark him as his prey. Hyūga smirked as he crossed his arms as he wore a towel around his neck. Midorima was once again adjusting his glasses while Mibuchi swayed his hair out of his face.

Aomine snickered as he pointed. "You sure you didn't mean Mibuchi as the girl?" He snickered again until someone ran into him from behind, causing him to jolt forward a step. "Hey watch it." He turned to the asshole that ran into him but when he looked down he was captured in a daze, his eyes met with a pair of emerald green sparkling eyes and they seemed to stand out more with her golden hair framing her face.

"Sorry, I was in a rush." The girl had a sweet voice as she held an apologetic smile on her face, "Excuse me..." She said gently as she stepped aside to pass Aomine.

"No.. uh…" Aomine stuttered as he stared after her.

"Aomine.. Your mouth is open…" Aomine was still in a daze as the girl weaved in and out of the crowd it was until Kuroko poked the him is when Aomine snapped out of it.

"Ahh, sorry um… what!?" Aomine almost turned back to Kuroko but when he saw that same girl running up to his former captain's team Aomine almost couldn't believe it as they welcomed her back, well at least Mibuchi did everyone else looked slightly annoyed, Hyūga even glared at the girl but what was shocking was that he did a karate chop down on her head.

"Idiot! What were you doing?!" Hyūga snapped as a vein pulsed by his temple.

"Sorry I had…"

"Don't yell at cutie, you cute meanie." Mibuchi said with a chuckle as he hugged the girl while lightly stroking her hair.

"Don't call me cute!" The small bickering continued between the two shooters, even as the MC announced Aomine's team they were still snapping at each other.

 _ **"AND FINALLY WE HAVE TEAM SLAM DUNK!"**_

Aomine snapped out of his smitten yet bewildered state when he heard his team's name, now he looked annoyed. "What?! Who gave us that stupid ass name?"

Aomine heard a snickering Takao behind him.

"Oh you ass… couldn't you have come up with a better name?" Aomine groaned as he held his head like he was starting to get a headache. Sakurai tried to calm his teammate down as he started to apologize for Takao, who seemed to chortle harder.

"Sakurai, I swear if I hear you say sorry one more time…" Kasamatsu growled as he stared down Sakurai. "And you Takao! You laughing isn't making it better!"

"Sor...!" Sakurai was just about to apologize again but Kasamatsu grip the the younger teen by the head, making Sakurai think twice about apologizing again, after Kasamatsu let's go Sakurai is still clearly shaken from the ordeal.

 _ **"OUR FIRST MATCH IN THE QUARTER FINALS IS BETWEEN TEAM SLAM DUNK AND THE SHOOTING GLASS!"**_

~!~

Team three and four both walked out onto the courts, each team member was staring each other down, trying to scare one or the other, while Clara was more nervous than trying to be intimidating. Once again she was surrounded by guys who were not exactly twice her size but the aura they gave off told her that these guys knew what they were doing and they were GOOD at what they do. Clara continued to walk to get into her tip off position when she ran into someone yet again.

"I am sorry, I didn't..."

Clara looked to the side to apologize with a smile but she didn't see anyone near her she blinked in confusion, She looked behind her and all she saw was the audience but when she turned back towards the middle of the court she was face to face with Tetsuya Kuroko and his sudden appearance not only made her gasp but she jumped back, away from him.

"Eeek!" After the initial shock Clara finally recognized Kuroko from seeing him and Kagami talking several times during the day. "I am sorry that was rude of me and I ran into you as well." Clara stumbled with her words but Kuroko shook his head.

"It's okay, I have gotten used to it…"

"Hearing you say that makes me feel sorry even more." Clara chuckled lightly as she held out her hand. "Please, don't go easy on me…"

Kuroko smiles back as he shook Clara's hand. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Aomine watched the two nearby mostly looking at Clara as he stood in wonder, how did Akashi even allowed this to happen, it wasn't like the former Teiko captain to do something like this, Aomine was released from his thoughts when Imayoshi blocked Aomine's view of Clara and Tetsu. Aomine chuckled as he stretched his arms and legs, "So... I assume you're going to be marking me?"

"It's only natural, I have been keeping an eye on you since you joined the team." Imayoshi smirked as he made some stretches on his arms as well. The two Tōō Academy student held a staring contest right as the referee was making his way on to the court.

"Well, observing and keeping up are two very different things…" Aomine cracked his neck with a wicked smirk of his own just as he started to make his way to the tip off line. Because he was the only one on his team that was over six feet tall he had to do the tip off, and because he is the only one who was over six feet on his team it would make being on the defensive that much more challenging but there strong point was their offense. Aomine got into position as he and Mibuchi waited for the referee to bring the ball into play.

"Oh, Aomine…" The darker skin teen turned to look over his shoulder at Imayoshi. "The team we went up against before, they underestimated her..." Imayoshi gestured to Clara who caught the gesture, she blushed slightly as she looked between the two. "So make sure you don't make the same mistake."

Clara flinched when she heard her teammate; making her more nervous but when she heard the shrieking sound of the referee's whistle, Clara's eyes seemed to go into focus. The ref looked between the two before shooting the ball straight up into the air. Aomine and Mibuchi followed suit to start the tip off. Kuroko noticed that for some reason Clara stepped back away from him and went into the defensive position in front of the basket. Kuroko wasn't the only one to notice as Hyūga was about to yell something at Clara when Aomine smacked the ball to Kasamatsu who than made a return pass back to Aomine.

"GET BACK!" Hyūga commanded but his call was a little too late as Aomine already made his way down the court, passing everyone with his amazing ball handling skills and speed. Aomine noticed it was just himself and Clara on his side of the court, Clara had a hard yet focus look as she stood her ground. But Aomine didn't feel threatened, he actually thought she looked a little hot from the look she was giving him but he pushed his smitten emotions down as he took it easy, he even sighed loud enough for Clara to hear.

"Man… this is probably the easiest two points I made in my gaming career…" Aomine mumbled to himself but just as he was about to move pass Clara to make a shot, he found himself shooting at the basket with nothing but air. The realization of not having the ball in his hands made the Too blink with wide eyes. Aomine whipped his head back as he watched Clara dribbling down the court.

Clara panted as she's about to cross the half court mark, her eyes dart around looking for anyone on her team to pass the ball to... and quickly, but just as she passed the mark she noticed that everyone on her team and other team for that matter, had a surprise look on their faces. Clara didn't know what was going on, did she do something wrong? Clara's felt a sudden chill run down her spine. Clara knew for a fact she had to get rid of the basketball and fast because something in her gut told her she wasn't going to have the sports ball for very long and she was correct when not only did Aomine caught up with her but he was also standing directly in front of her, he had his arms raised in a defensive position ready to steal the ball back.

"That was interesting…" Aomine said in a low voice causing a shiver to once again run down Clara's spine.

"Inari!" Clara didn't tear her green eyes away from Aomine's dark eyes as she tossed the ball backwards to Midorima who than made a three point shot from the half way mark. Aomine didn't bother to watch the ball because he kept his focus on the girl who stood in front of him trying to keep her composure but he continued to stare down.

"Just to let you know… that won't happen again…" A small smirk formed on his lips

Clara felt a third chill run down her spine and somehow she knew he was probably right but Clara stood up straight, stared back at the six foot teen and even though her nerves were almost shot, she somehow still was able to get the few words out without stumbling. "I guess we will find out…"

Aomine's smirk only grew as he held out his hand to his side, leaving Clara confused until suddenly the basketball appeared in his hand out of nowhere. Before Clara could **_even_** register what happened Aomine already scored a two point shot, leaving Clara in a shocked state, she looked over her shoulder as Imayoshi jogged to the sidelines to pass the ball in but Clara didn't notice as she felt a single cold drop of sweat run down the side of her face, she than looked ahead to see the person that made that ridiculous pass, she spotted Kuroko standing on the sideline, his outstretched arm was lowering as he went into defense mode.

"What… just happened…" Clara gasped out, still trying to make sense of what happened.

"Inari!" Clara jumped when her named was suddenly called out, she was still shaking lightly as she watched Midorima make his way over to her but she looked to the ground like she thought Midorima would be disappointed in her but his soft voice made her look at his own green eyes. "Stop thinking…" He said to her softly. "Don't think…" Clara started to calm down ever so slightly but her breathing was still shaking as Midorima spoke. "This will sound strange but you must rely on your instincts… if you feel something in your gut react to it, don't second guess…"

Clara took a deep breath and nodded. "O…okay.."

"What you did before, that feeling that you felt at the tip off, is exactly what you need to keep doing… do that and keep passing the ball to me or anyone else." Midorima sounded so sure of himself and Clara looked down once more and took a deep breath and than looked straight ahead.

Soon determination glowed brightly in Clara's eyes, she cracked her knuckles as she smiled up at Midorima. "Right! Let's kick some ass!"

Before long the game was in the last minute of the third quarter. Both sides were relentless, the score was 60 to 57 with Tōō in the lead. However when it came to Clara; Aomine, Kasamatsu, Sakurai and even Takao were still going soft on her. And as Aomine stated Clara wasn't able to steal the ball much anymore, she was able to some form of degree but she was defiantly the worst member on the team at the moment and if it wasn't for Midorima's accurate shooting the game wouldn't be as close as it is. Actually if it wasn't for anyone on her team she would have forfeit long time ago. However the fire in Clara's eyes haven't even started to ember yet. Clara figured it was because of Kuroko, he looked at her like an opponent, not a girl, an opponent in basketball. Clara was grateful because she was completely sure that if he also didn't take her seriously she would have quit in the beginning. But Clara had to do something, time was running out and suddenly her team was down by eight points. Than she remembered what Midorima told her.

 _"Stop thinking..."_

Clara got back into her offensive position as she made her stance solid.

 _"Don't think..."_

Clara took a deep breath, making her body more relaxed and her eyes sharp.

 _"You must rely on your instincts..."_

Clara felt her fingers twitched.

Imayoshi passed the half way mark of the court and quickly passed the ball to Mibuchi just as Aomine tried to swipe the ball away to steal. Mibuchi squared up his position and tried to go for a two shot with his heaven shot but Sakurai was there to smack the ball away, causing Mibuchi to gasp in anger.

"Why you little brat…"

"Sorry!" Sakurai cried out as he took hold of the ball chucked it to a sprinting Kasamatsu, who than took that opportunity to dribble down the court. The former Kaijō captain noticed that Aomine and Kuroko were already on their side of the court so Kasamatsu took that chance to pass the ball straight to Kuroko, who was positioned to launch another amazing pass to Aomine. Kuroko's hand made contact to the ball, smacking it's way to Aomine, who in turn was ready to catch the ball at any second.

However…

Aomine's eyes widen, something felt seriously wrong as he watched Kuroko make the pass, his gut was screaming at him to get the ball... NOW, so instinctively Aomine reached out to take hold of the ball, but that horrible feeling came true as he watched Clara taking possession of the ball in another amazing steal. As she made a mad dash down the court, Aomine didn't waste another second getting right on Clara's heels. Clara panted heavily as she tried desperatly to distance herself from her pursuer, but she knew that if she didn't pass the ball soon it was going to get stolen. As Clara got to the three point line, she unexpectedly made a complete and sudden stop, thinking Aomine would pass right by her as she quickly made a bounce pass to Mibuchi but little did she know that because of her abrupt stop, Aomine collided with Clara that sent the two tumbling hard to the ground.

~!~

Wow! I had fun writing this chapter!

Forwarning… there will be some fluffy between Aomine and Clara (because… I love him too / ..) BUT that being said this IS AND WILL STAY AS A CLARA x MURASAKIBARA fanfic, that is not changing, there will just be some light flirting just to get Murasakibara pissed, like with Midorima!

Also I made a poor atempt to show you gusy what I think Clara would look like in the series, I just changed the hair and eye color of a girl I saw in the series.

go to Photobucket and look up the user OkeyDJ

(doesn't look like it because of her clothes but Clara has a 32C cup)

Also, I am putting my OWN basketball expereinces in this game with Clara, so I am not just blowing air out of my ass, so a lot of plays that Clara has done I have done, I loved stealing the basketball from people! Best part of the game when I was able to. Now is Clara stronger than the GoM of course not! (Chapter three should have made that clear) Right now Aomine and everyone are just halfassing (even less than that) around her but maybe in the next chapter they will finally take her more seriously? That is if she and Aomine are alright! Hehe Cliffhangers!

I hope you enjoy the 8th chapter!

I also want to thank several people!

Thank you to;

TheLunaGoddess, TF Fan-For-Life, LuCkY-StAr69, Iridescent Blue Sky, NinjaChipmunk, AMUTOforever305, BlizzardTail, Mayrit, and ITriedToThinkOfAName! Thank you so much for your reviews and kind words!

Espiecally thank you to:

DanathaKettu  
Chibi-No-Baka  
LaughterLover98  
Crossdress123

You guys have shown the most love by sending me your reviews/comments! Thank you!

And as always thank you to everyone who has added this story to their followers and favorite list! Thank you!

See ya'll next time! :D

~!~

Update (7/25/15): I saw a huge ass error in the second last portion of his chapter! I apologize if anyone was like "what?" when they first read this and those who are reading it for the first time, I hope you enjoy the chapter and see you in chapter nine!


	9. Chapter 9

Murasakibara felt annoyed, he witnessed Clara bumping into Aomine right before the match and he saw the look in the pervy teen's eyes. Murasakibara growled again causing Tatsuya too look up at him.

"What is it Atsushi?"

"Nothing.." Murasakibara growled as he continued to watch Aomine observe Clara as she and Kuroko were talking amongst themselves, she did look like she was nervous but she looked like she was having fun as well.

"Are you mad about something?" Tatsuya pressed as he held a playful smirk on his face.

"Yeah, because you keep trying to tease me Mido-chin…" Murasakibara growled dangerously, causing the other teen to smirk.

"I thought I was ' _Muro-chin'_ …" Murasakibara realized his mistake and looked to the side blushing while Tatsuya smiled as he continued to tease his best friend.

 ** _"OUR FIRST MATCH IN THE QUARTER FINALS IS BETWEEN TEAM SLAM DUNK AND THE SHOOTING GLASS!"_**

Murasakibara winced at the loud MC, he began to introduce each of the players but none of them seem to notice as they got into their positions. Tatsuya puts a hand to his chin as he watches Clara closely; he began to remember the match between her and Murasakibara and how badly she was beaten in a matter of seconds.

"I wonder how serious the other team will treat Clara…"

"The only one who will, will be Kuro-chin…" Murasakibara watched as the ball went into the possession of Kasamatsu who than passed it to Aomine, Hyūga shouted his warning but of course it was yesterday too late as Aomine rushed passed everyone but the giant didn't expect to see Clara in front of the hoop waiting for Aomine. Murasakibara even noticed that Aomine was surprised but that look turned into a 'really? This is it?' kind of look.

But neither Aomine nor Murasakibara was ready when Clara stole the ball from Aomine. It was amazing. Clara, with one hand on the ball, pivots and spins in the opposite direction, twisting the ball away from Aomine and sprinting her way back down the court.

It only took Aomine a second to realize what has happened and another second to catch up with the girl but what the darker skin teen forgot was that she had Midorima on her team. Clara was able to pass the ball backwards towards the second tallest player of the Miracles and once he received the ball he was able to make a three point shot.

Murasakibara could only stare as he watched Clara breathing heavily; it took everything she had to get the ball away from Aomine. Will she be able to last long? Murasakibara's eyebrows perk as he watched Clara and Aomine stare intensely at each other, it almost seemed like sparks were flying in their staring contest. He could see the two were talking but because of the applause from the audience he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"What… was that move?" Tatsuya gasped in amazement.

"This is interesting…" The two Yōsen students look to Akashi as he too continued to watch the game with mild interest. "It seems Inari has a high level of instinct… If I had to put it on a numbering scale of one to ten… she would be at seven… no maybe an eight…"

Murasakibara looked to Akashi, if they were going by a number system, Akashi would be well past the ten mark, so Clara being that high… is it possible?

"She isn't in the Zone is she?" Tatsuya asked the very question Murasakibara was thinking himself.

"No..." Akashi looked to the two as he continues to speak. "Being in the Zone, as you know, is a player reaches their maximum potential. Clara certainly has some talents for basketball but she isn't talented enough to enter in the zone, but I think that is because she focused her time on Volleyball, what Inari has is animalistic instincts. She is kind of close to Furihata from Seirin."

Murasakibara's memory bank went back to the 'Chihuahua' that went up against not only Kasamatsu from Kaijō but also Akashi. Before Murasakibara could question Akashi's observations he watched as Clara tried to steal the ball again from Aomine but she was a millisecond too late but she did graze the ball causing Aomine to pass the ball half assed to Kasamatsu. Aomine watched Clara as she pants out hot breath, her hands at her knees but than she stood up straight, fully recovered her breath.

"So what do you mean that Cookie reminds you of that 'Chihuahua'?" Murasakibara finally looked back to his former captain.

"Furihata doesn't have overwhelmingly obvious skills, he is an average player at best but he has great caution and level-headedness on the court and he can control the pace of the game easily." Akashi looked to Murasakibara. "Clara is almost the same way… she just doesn't take caution…"

"Meaning…If she feels something in her gut she will act upon it… "

Akashi nodded. "And those people can be either be the most predictable because you can actually try to lead them into a trap or they can be the most dangerous… as they will are willing to risk their body in the process…"

As the match carried on, Clara was able to steal the ball a few times more but she has yet to steal the ball again from Aomine but she keeps pushing herself. Murasakibara was even able to catch her when she even almost tumbled to the ground trying to save the ball from going out of bounds. The giant could tell Clara was getting frustrated after she got out of his arms to get back into the game. And Murasakibara he didn't like it, it seemed that she was pushing her self harder than she should. His eyes wander to her knees and noticed that a trickle of blood has been seeping through her bandages. Clara was running her knees so much that her cuts reopened.

Murasakibara was starting to understand what Akashi meant when Clara would risk some bodily harm to steal the ball, it was until the game got into the final minute of the third quarter was when he realized how serious it really was.

The crowd went wild when Clara was finally able to steal the ball from Aomine after Kuroko attempted to pass the ball to him. Everything was going in Clara's favor when she passed the ball but than…

The audience watched Aomine collide into Clara in a sickening smack. Everyone gasped and shouted. Murasakibara felt his blood run extremely cold as he watched Clara's body roll and tumbled on to the ground until she came to a stop. It felt like Murasakibara was watching it all in slow motion. He remembered Clara did the same kind of trick in the last game. The giant figured that Clara thought she could trick Aomine to run past her or at least try to distract him by making him avoid her but the only logical explanation as to why a great player like Aomine couldn't avoid the collision was because distance between the two was so small to begin with.

"TIME OUT!" One of the officials screamed as they began to run over to Aomine and Clara.

Everyone watched as Aomine, being an experienced basketball player, was able to recover quickly as he rolled back on his feet in a crouching position before standing up straight. He is seen hissing out as he had several scrapes on his arms and legs but they were minor, barely bleeding. But Murasakibara didn't take his eyes off of Clara, the color in his face went white as a sheet, he felt his breath caught in his throat.

Clara laid face down on the court... not moving. The air was unbearably heavy… hardly anyone made a sound, you could hear a pin drop in this horrible silence.

"I…Inari!"

Murasakibara heard someone shout out but he couldn't move to go to her, he didn't know if he was even breathing. His clenched fists were so tight his knuckles were turning white as he watched Aomine get to Clara first, he put a hand on her back and shook her very lightly, just as Murasakibara felt his legs starting to finally move to make his way over, Clara suddenly sprang to her knees.

~!~

"AHHHH! That hurt!" Clara yelled as she held the back of her head rubbing the now sore spot when she hit the concrete or rubbed wherever Aomine hit her during the collision. She snapped her attention to the dark haired teen as she glared at him; she had unshed tears brimming her eyes. "What the hell man?!"

Aomine could only stare as Clara started yelling at him, his voice was soft, as he looked her over, he looked confused. "What… you're not… hurt?"

"Hell yeah I am hurt! You ran into me man! LOOK!" Clara pointed to a small scrap on her arm. "See! I got scratched! Why the hell did you run into me?! What are ya slow?"

Aomine's astonished look soon turned to agitation as he glared down and began to shout back getting into Clara's face. "Oh shut up! It's just a scratch! It's not like you broke a leg or anything! And another thing! WHO stops in the middle of the damn court! You idiot!"

"AHH! You're the idiot!" Clara pointed at the other teen and shouted. "Ahomine!"

Aomine's mouth hung open but he soon recovered, however before he could retort; the other team members finally reached their fallen players including those from the sidelines.

Midorima put a hand to Clara's back speaking softly. "Are you alright? You looked liked you got hit pretty hard…"

Clara shook her head. "I am alright, I swear, I have been hurt way worse when I was in volleyball, this kind of thing happens." Clara smiles brightly, any kind of pain she felt before was gone. She sees the look of relief on everyone's face.

Clara didn't notice that Murasakibara was silently watching over her, his knuckles still white as sheets, he was trying so hard not to push everyone away.

Tatsuya sighed heavily as he lightly pushed Clara all the while speaking in English. " _God damn it you scared the shit out of me…_ "

Clara laughed as she could only pick up a few things as Tatsuya continued to speak in English, something about if she ever made him worry again he was going to crush her himself. The referee came over and examined Clara, he declared she was fit to play if she so choose, she even received an applause from the crowd after she was announced she was okay, even Aomine received an applause and some pieces of paper?

Clara smirked as she saw a phone number written on one of the papers he caught. "Hmmm, someone is popular…"

"Shut it!" Aomine growled as he turned to get back into his position but he came face to face with Kuroko, who than turned his face away from Aomine.

"Aomine… you're such a despicable guy… I am done passing the ball to you…"

Aomine gasped. "Oi! Not my fault they tossed these at me! Oi! Tetsu! Don't walk away from me!"

Clara snickered as she turns to get back into her own offensive position but she suddenly ran into another much larger body. She squeaked as she almost stumbled onto the ground a second time until a pair of large hands helped correct her balance. Clara looked up to see an upset Murasakibara. Clara couldn't help but feel a stab in her chest, Murasakibara looked like he was almost ready to cry.

"Murasakibara?" Clara spoke softly.

"Are…. Are you sure you are okay?" He asked in a low voice, Clara saw his eyes wandered to her knees and to the many concrete scrapes on her arms and legs.

It took Clara a second to figure out what the giant said, he spoken so softly that Clara almost missed what he said. Clara smiles warmly as she nods.

"Yes, I really am."

Murasakibara looked like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders as his face relaxed.

"Be careful out there Cla…."

Clara's eyes widen, was he about to…

"Hey! It's time to start the game, please leave the court sir!"

Murasakibara and Clara looked to the referee as he blew his whistle. Clara gasped.

"Sorry Murasakibara! Let's talk later after I we win!" She smiles with confidence. Murasakibara looked like he didn't want to move as he stayed where he was, his hands only grasped air after Clara got out of his grip. Clara noticed Murasakibara hasn't moved from his spot. "Mura…"

"Good luck out there… play safely…" Murasakibara waved gently with a smile but Clara held a smirking yet serious face.

"I can't play safely."

"Huuuuuhhhh?" Murasakibara's soft expression soon turned hard as he grip her head suddenly. "You want me to crush you myself?"

Clara squeaked but she grips his hands. "I can't go soft! I have to give it my all or it will be disrespectful! I also want to know that I did my best… whether I beat them or not… I don't want to regret anything!"

Clara's words seemed to have awakened some kind of fire in her opponent's eyes. Even Aomine looked like he regretted taking Clara too lightly as he thought back to her steals. Soon everyone on Aomine's team had a look of determination in their eyes.

"It's like what you said Tetsu…"

Kuroko looked to his best friend with a curious expression.

" _No one wants their opponent too go easy on them when they love the game…_ " Aomine says gently as he looked to Kuroko and holds out his fist, he was smirking like how he used to back in middle school. "Let's kick some ass…"

Kuroko smiles as he and Aomine bumped fists.

Murasakibara finally retreated back to the sidelines, feeling a little speechless as Clara and her team got back into positions. Imayoshi started to walk down the court with the ball. He looked to Clara and than to Hyūga. Imayoshi's eyes widen when he saw Aomine charging at him. Aomine smacked the ball away but before he could retrieve it Clara some how appeared in front of the ball and caught it, she pivots to her right, making Aomine pass her as she tossed the ball to Midorima who made a three point shot.

Aomine stopped besides Clara and stares down at her. Clara gulps, as she grew nervous, she felt like she did something she might regret after all. After another second Aomine finally speaks.

"Tetsu…" His voice was low, as he didn't take his eyes off Clara. "I will cover the girl here…"

Everyone looked a little surprise, but Kuroko didn't argue. "Alright."

And from that moment on, Clara wasn't able to do anything. She wasn't able to make a shot, she wasn't able to steal, and she wasn't even able to dribble the basketball because the Tōō Ace would've stolen whatever she played. Clara grew more and more frustrated as the point gap grew wider as the final seconds of the fourth quarter grew closer.

Clara panted heavily as she watched Imayoshi bring the ball back down but Takao was pressuring him. Clara looked to Aomine who hasn't let her out of his sight. She cursed inwardly. She looked to Imayoshi, she had to do something or he would foul from holding the ball for too long. Clara took a deep breath. The small movement caused Aomine to go on alert.

Clara moved forward to fake, but her movement was read clearly, causing Clara to stepped back, but that was another fake, which Aomine was able to read again that is until she pivots yet again and spun around her guard. The movement really caught Aomine off guard and it was in that moment that Imayoshi took that chance to pass the ball to her. Clara squared up her shot…

The ball was smacked out of her hands as Aomine recovered fast.

The final buzzer sounded, ending the first quarterfinal game.

Clara shouted into the sky as she ruffled her hair roughly. "AHHH! This is frustrating! I had that shot!"

Clara's team did their best until the very end but it wasn't enough as Aomine and Kuroko were able to shut down everyone on the court, even Midorima wasn't able to keep up with the former Teikō Ace. Imayoshi wipes some sweat off his, Mibuchi tried to find comfort in Hyūga but the later simply pushed the other away.

"Don't touch me man…" Hyūga hissed.

After her fit Clara went up to Kasamatsu and held out her hand. "Congratulations…" She had unshed tears in her eyes as she stared up at the point guard.

"Ah, good game." Kasamatsu took hold of Clara's hand and shook it.

Clara than went to Takao and did the same but he didn't stop there as he pulled her in for a quick hug. "Good game Clara."

Clara's foul mood changed with a light chuckle as she hugged back. "Good game…" Takao pulled away and as he walked off, he received a glare from his Shūtoku teammate, which only caused Takao to snicker.

Clara went over to Sakurai and shook his hand and for some reason he was apologizing to her which caused Clara to smile a little more. "I don't know why you're apologizing, you were amazing."

The praise caught Sakurai off guard as he bowed. "I am sorry!" Clara chuckled nervously as she stepped away from the other until she was face to face with Kuroko, Clara smiles even more so as she shook his hand.

"Thank you for taking me seriously until the end…"

Kuroko had a small smile on his face. "Any time… let's play again."

Clara nods. "Yes please!"

Clara than turned to Aomine, her eyes narrowed as she looked to the darker skin tone teen, soon her cheeks puffed as she pouted before holding out her hand. "Good…game…" Her eyes went to the side as she waited for Aomine to shake her hand but when one didn't come she looked back up at him, a pout still on her face.

Aomine couldn't move, he felt his face heating up. He looked to the side, still not shaking her hand. "G…good game…"

Clara blinked. "What you are not going to shake my hand? You think you are too good to shake hands."

"Huuuhhhh? Of course, I did just kick your ass didn't I?"

The two teenagers soon found themselves in another heated argument, both head butting each other trying to make one or the other move back.

"Ahomine!" Clara taunted the other and again, just as the teen was going to come up with his own little quip Aomine spotted Murasakibara glaring down at his former teammate. Aomine blinked in surprise at how dangerous the giant has become, it was like he was protecting his food that was about to be stolen.

"Ahhh, whatever… " Aomine than took Clara's hand and shook it. "Good game…" But Aomine didn't let go, he continued to shake her hand for a few more seconds, he seemed like he didn't want to let go that is until Murasakibara's aura seemed to intensify causing the offender to scuttle back to his spot under the tree.

Clara blinked as she looked up and saw finally saw Murasakibara standing behind her.

The violet head looked down. "You need to be aware of other guys Cookie…." Clara blinked in confusion, which caused Murasakibara to get even more pissed off it seemed. Murasakibara growled heavily before turning Clara away to move her back to the bench. "Never mind… Let's take a look at your knees."

Clara continued to blink. "What do you mean?" Murasakibara gently picked Clara up like a doll to gently set her down on the table so her knees were more eye level when the giant sat down in front of her to get a better look. Clara blushed as she waved her hands about, "Don't worry Murasakibara! They're fin…OW!" Clara gasped in pain as Murasakibara put a finger over her bandage. "That hurt!"

"Cookie… I barley touched you…" Murasakibara sighed. "That's how badly hurt you are…"

Clara wipes a little tear that fell from her eye. "But…I had to push myself… or I would have regretted it…"

Murasakibara sighed. "I don't understand you… Just seems like a waste of time and energy."

Clara could only smile. "Yeah, you seem the type of person to say that…" She giggled as he looked at her with a blush on his face but before he could say anything Clara popped a cookie in his mouth. "Stop being a baby." She giggled as Murasakibara tended to her knees.

"I am glad you weren't seriously hurt Cookie…" He murmured as he finished disinfecting on knee. "You actually showed more basketball skill than the time we played…"

"Probably because I can't do one on one, I need another player to play with." She laughed. "I am mostly a supportive player, in volley ball I normally set the ball for the spikers or I dive to get the ball, you kind of have to really study the ball pattern if you want to fully use it's full potential and having teammates who love the game just as much as you do. Make it all worth while." Clara smiles brightly. "Even though we didn't get to the finals or just won the whole thing… I had fun."

Clara held up her hand, she wanted a high five from Murasakibara, who smiled gently back and clapped her hand with his.

"Kick everyone's ass!"

"Ahhh… I don't know… seems like too much work." Murasakibara whined gently.

"If you do I will bake you a big congratulations cake…"

Murasakibara stood up and pointed to Tatsuya and Kagami, along with Aomine's team and in a serious yet bored tone. "You brats are going down."

The others yelled as Murasakibara's body seemed to glow in determination. Akashi chuckled.

"Well… let's start the next match than…"

~!~

I hope you guys weren't expecting Clara to win!

If you did I am sorry! Haha, I hope you all are still liking the story! Sorry the slow update, been getting busy all of a sudden!

I hoped you enjoy the chapter and I will see ya'll next time!

If you like the story please write to me your thoughts I love seeing reviews! :D

Later!


	10. Chapter 10

Tatsuya sighed heavily as he saw the sparkles in Murasakibara's eyes as he started to tell Clara all the possible cakes she could bake him after the tournament. Murasakibara even mentioned she could bake him even more than just one cake. All the while Clara smiled and nodded as she continued to listen to the excited teen. Suddenly an idea struck Clara.

"Oh, maybe I should make a cake for everyone… so instead of just a single cake, maybe small cupcakes?" Clara put a finger to her chin as she went into thought of the different flavors and icing she could make. But her little announcement caused the gluttonous teenager to suddenly glare at the people around him. Clara continued to stay in thought as Murasakibara started to come up with his own plan to make sure he was the only one eating anything that Clara baked.

Despite the glare, the others seemed to get excited as well, especially Kise, as he wraps an arm around Clara's shoulder as he started to list off the many flavors he liked. Murasakibara gasped as he attempts to reach out to pull Kise off Clara but Kagami's hand reached the blonde boy before Murasakibara could.

"Come on Kise, it's time to warm up…" Kagami barked as he dragged a reluctant Kise away, Clara giggled as she waved at the two.

Just as Murasakibara was about to let Clara know how he REALLY felt about her baking goods for everyone else, Akashi came up to him speaking in a low and commanding voice, making the much taller teen shudder.

"Let's go Atsushi, it's time to warm up, you can kicked Kise's ass on the court." The red head turns to head straight back onto the court. Wakamatsu took that moment to pass a ball straight to Akashi who than went in to do a lay up. Murasakibara was also reluctant to follow but followed he did, he stood near the hoop to help get everyone warm up for defense tactics but it seemed like Murasakibara was a little distracted under the hoop as he continued to watch Clara get along with the others, slowly moving his arms about to 'block' the shots.

Murasakibara didn't mind Clara making friends because he knew that is what she wanted to do the first thing she moved to Akita but what he did mind was that she was planning on baking something incredibly delicious for others besides himself. With that thought in mind, Murasakibara didn't like that… not… one… bit! Murasakibara sighed as he started to think of different ways for him to take back what is rightfully his, but before he could even start to think of his first idea he heard a low voice in front of him.

"Atsushi…" Murasakibara took notice that Akashi has been staring up at with annoyed look on his face.

"What happened Aka-chin?"

"You missed warm up… you just stood there and let every shot go in…" Akashi sighed as he crossed his arms. "I don't need someone who gets distracted over the promise of snacks…so I need you to focus and get to the tip off line." Akashi commanded again as he pointed towards the middle of the court where Kagami waited for the taller teen to come and battle him for the leathery sports ball.

"Sorrryyy…" He rolled out his apologizes in a sarcastic kind of tone as he picked his ear with his pinky finger.

"Go Murasakibara!"

Murasakibara tensed up and looked back at Clara, she was waving her hands about cheering him on with her sweet bright smile. Murasakibara suddenly felt a fire in his chest, causing his body to move on it's own as he stood in the tip off section. Kagami got into position.

"Man… this almost seems unfair…" Kagami chuckled. "But this is also kind of exciting, you're acting like you did at the Winter's Cup."

Murasakibara looked down at Kagami. "Maybe you should give up before I crush you all…"

Tatsuya is seen chuckling.

"Go Tatsuya!"

Murasakibara didn't really hear Clara cheer for Tatsuya as he was in his own little motivation world as the referee came up with the ball.

~!~

" **NOW IT'S TIME FOR OUR SECOND AND FINAL QUARTERFINALS GAME**!" The MC screamed in his microphone, he even sounded more excited, probably because the previous game was such a ringer, he must be expecting something equally amazing

The referee blew his whistle and hoisted the ball in the air for the tip off. Both the red head and the violet head jumped high into the air to take possession of the ball but instead of smacking the ball to another player, Murasakibara actually took hold of the ball and passed it right to Akashi.

Kagami immediately puts the pressure on Akashi, as he stood close, his arms waving about and trying to block any kind of route that the other red head could or would take. But Akashi stood where he was dribbling the ball before passing it towards Wakamatsu but the pass was a fake and the ball actually went to Izuki.

The teenager's eyes seemed to sharpen in an instant before he bounced passed the ball towards Murasakibara, the sudden shift of passing the ball caused Moriyama and Kotaro to actually run into each other as they both attempted to steal the ball. Because of the little collision Murasakibara was able to snatch the ball up and proceeded to make a bunny shot into the hoop.

Suddenly Tatsuya called a time out right after he received the ball at the sidelines. He called his teammates over and they huddled up.

"Okay guys…" Tatsuya took command as he looked at everyone on his team. "We have to play smart and keep an eye out not only for our opponents but also ourselves because Izuki as you know will try to lead us into traps." Tatsuya turned to Kagami. "Taiga, I want you to cover Murasakibara…"

Kagami looked like he was about to argue but Tatsuya stopped him. "Kotaro will cover Akashi because they have practiced with each other everyday sense they first played together at Rakuzan, he will be more of an opponent for him at the moment."

Kagami closed his mouth and nodded in agreement as he continued to listen to Tatsuya.

"Moriyama, you got Wakamatsu."

Kise spoke up. "And that leaves me with Hayakawa?"

Tatsuya nodded. "Yes but I need you to help Kagami whenever you think he needs it, it will take everything you both have to stop him."

"I have done so in the past, I am sure I can do it again." Kagami said with a confident smile but Tatsuya didn't look impressed.

"You only saw a portion of what Murasakibara's determination can do to him in a game." Tatsuya pointed towards where Clara was sitting and not too far away way was Murasakibara. "Besides actually winning he has a different kind of motivation to get him to do his ultimate best, he might enter in the Zone if it comes to it…" Tatsuya stood up straight; "We can not let our guard down."

"What will you do coach?" Kise asked as he crossed his arms slightly.

"I will cover Izuki, more than likely he and Akashi will be the point guards in this game and I know Izuki's movements rather well…" Tatsuya cracked his knuckles as he looked at each of his teammates. "Alright! Let's give them hell Wild Beasts!"

The group shouts out their battle cry as they continued the game.

Tatsuya's strategy was a good one as the Wild Beasts were able to keep the pressure on Team Hype. Kagami was actually able to deny Murasakibara some dunks and bunny shots but most of them were because Kise was able to help him at the last second, but the two didn't seem to care. But the blocks seemed to get Murasakibara a little ticked off than usual as he made a few bunny shots in a row with the help of Akashi.

And Akashi wasn't letting up either; he was able to do cause his signature Ankle Break Dribble on Kotaro more than once during the first quarter. But Kotaro would get up right away instead of being discouraged because he has gone through many of these little Ankle Breakers to last him a lifetime. He couldn't afford to be flabbergasted.

Which was beneficial for him as he was able to use his own dribbling powers on his teammate, he was even able to trick Akashi out but needless to say he wasn't able to do it again.

Hayakawa seemed to be getting more pissed off as Kise continued to deny him his usual rebounds through his copy techniques.

"AHHH! Kise! You will be lunning raps in plactice next week!" Hayakawa's speech was starting to become a little unclear as the Kaijō student became excited. But Kise laughed as he passed the ball to Kagami, he seemed unfazed by the threat.

"Sorry Hayakawa, but I am not going to go easy on you…" Kise knew he was going to be running in practice next week either way, so he tried to not let the threat get to him nevertheless he felt a little tear roll down his cheek as he just imagined the pain he will go through, though the nice three point shot he made felt pretty damn good.

Murasakibara groaned in irritation when Kise made a three pointer so he made sure from that point on he remained near the basket. And it worked, because it seemed like no one could pass the giant's tall figure. Murasakibara once again smacked the ball away from the hoop causing a wave of applause to emit from the audience.

"Nice Defense!"

Murasakibara's head turned to Clara as she cheered him on. Murasakibara turned away quickly to hide his reddened face and the fire of determination continued to blaze in his chest. Murasakibara wanted to win and he wanted to win badly but he just wasn't sure if it was because of the possible overall victory (and cake) or the girl who was going to maybe celebrate with him. Murasakibara shook his head as he convinced himself it was because of the cake.

"Atsushi!"

Murasakibara heard Akashi shout out his name as the red head passed the ball to the giant once again. Just as Murasakibara was turning to make the bunny shot, he saw Clara's bright eyes on him, Murasakibara felt something rising in his chest… he wanted to show off… So instead of a simple shot he went ahead and did a backwards slam-dunk into the basket. The crowd seriously went wild; a few people went rose to their feet in amazement at the sheer power Murasakibara unleashed in that very moment.

Though short as the landing was, Murasakibara landed back on his feet gently and he looked over at Clara who was clapping and cheering as loud as the rest of the audience. Murasakibara couldn't help but smirk in pride however when he caught sight of Tatsuya smirking at him Murasakibara turned his head up to avoid eye contact.

"You are making it too easy…"

Tatsuya snickered as he walked past his friend. "That should be my line, come on, you have to keep showing off."

Murasakibara pouted as he continued to avoid eye contact with Tatsuya. "Let's just get back to the game…" Murasakibara soon walked ahead of Tatsuya just as Kagami came down the court with the ball.

Tatsuya sighed gently just as his face went deadly serious. "You are right..." Kagami snapped the ball to his childhood friend and as soon as the ball hit Tatsuya's hands he made his signature shot, Murasakibara was too slow to react and by the time he started to raise a hand Tatsuya already release the ball to make a lovely three point shot.

"Muro-chin…" Murasakibara's voice went into a low threatening tone.

"Keep letting your guard down you will lose this match." Tatsuya stated with confidence to back him up.

Even so, Murasakibara's team was still pulling ahead, Tatsuya's team was just hanging on by a thread but when you had the number one center and the number one point guard in the country it made the game a little difficult but even so Tatsuya, Kagami, Kise, Kotaro, and Moriyama were holding on.

~!~

Clara continued to cheer and wave as the game continued on. She looked towards the clock and noticed that the second quarter was just about to end. She looked and saw a medium size box filled with water bottles.

"Maybe I will go and fill these up." Clara smiles as she got up from her seat to make her way to a water fountain that was near by but just as she started to walk she was about to pass Midorima; who was reading a book on a bench. "Ah, Midorima."

The green hair looked up from his book. "Is something the matter Inari?"

"No, I just wanted to say 'thank you'." Clara smiles as Midorima looked a little confused. "For letting me play, you guys certainly didn't have to have me on your team… So thank you, even though you probably would have won with out me." She chuckled.

"I don't know about that…"

"Huh?" Clara looked at the green head as he looked directly in her eyes. "Despite your amateur play style you did well." Midorima's cheeks were tinted with pink. "Besides… you helped me more than once today…"

Clara's mind flashed back to that morning where she helped Murasakibara in that bike incident. She smiles gently. "I am just glad I was there at the right time, I couldn't just stand there and do nothing." Clara smiles warmly but she also had a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Why is it… that whenever you say something along those lines you suddenly become sad?" Clara looked surprise as she began to stutter as Midorima stood up from his spot to stand fully in front of Clara, he stared down at her, trying to read whatever was vexing her, but Clara kept her mouth shut as she stepped back slightly. "Why is that?"

Clara stopped her stuttering as she looked to the side. "Uh… I… really don't want to talk about it…" Clara's hand instinctively went to her pendent that was around her neck, "Anyways! I am going to go and get water for everyone, I think yours is in here too!" Clara's smile flashed brightly as she went past Midorima. "The green one right?"

~!~

Midorima watched Clara's retreating form as she made her way to the drinking fountains.

"Ahhh, you need to work on how you talk with the ladies Shin…" Midorima jumped out of his daze and glared at Takao who appeared out of nowhere.

"Shut it Takao…" The green hair turned back to his book trying to ignore his classmate.

"But seriously… who would have guessed that the number one shooter from the Generation of Miracles would develop a crush after a girl he just met." Takao teases trying to get another reaction from his classmate.

"You got it wrong." Takao could clearly see the blush that formed on Midorima's cheeks, it made Takao blink in surprise at how adorable and innocent Midorima looked at that moment, he looked like a pre-teen girl having her first crush on her senpai, suddenly a thought came to Takao.

Takao gasped as his thought crashed into his mind like plane crash, he was almost scared of asking his classmate this. "Is this your first crush!?"

Midorima's reaction was all the proof Takao needed as the teen points at the green head, sucking in air as his hand shakes. Midorima unexpectedly pulls Takao away from the crowd and the cries of pain when fists connected to flesh were died out in the cheering crowds.

Kuroko looked over just as the two Shūtaku students came back over to the bench. Midorima looks pissed with a tinge of red on his cheeks, while Takao is sporting a lovely black and blue eye.

"What happened?" Kuroko looked between the two with a curious look about him.

Takao could only snicker and laugh as Midorima continued to yell at him to keep his mouth shut but it proved to be impossible as Takao continued to laugh at the expense of his teammate. Kise is still confused by the time Clara came back, it was practically perfect timing as Murasakibara's game was at half time. Midorima noticed Clara regained her smile back as she held out the bin with now filled water bottles.

"Amazing game everyone! Keep at it!"

"Ahh! Thank you Inari…" Tatsuya squeezed a bit of water in his mouth, as did the rest of them before splitting up to discuss about their future plans for the second half of the game. All but one that is.

Murasakibara stood in front of Clara and tilted his head to the side. "Why are you upset Cookie?"

Clara blinked. "What?"

"You seem down… like you are forcing that smile on your face." Murasakibara was blunt in his comments.

Midorima was a little surprised that Murasakibara was able to sense that something wasn't quite right with Clara. Clara of course tried to deny it, she even went as far as to say it was because they lost the game, Murasakibara looked like he was about to press the matter a little further but he was suddenly called upon by Akashi to join the rest of the team in discussion. Murasakibara stayed where he was, than his hand was on top of Clara's head ruffling her hair slightly, a small smile formed on his lips.

"Cheer up, I rather see you having fun than being upset…" He took a bite out of a protein bar and made a disgusted expression. "Ugh… what is this?"

Clara laughed as she witnessed his face distorting in disgust. "Oh! You don't like that flavor?" Clara continued to laugh as she handed the giant his water bottle to wash down the after taste to which Murasakibara chugged the whole water down. Clara calms down when Murasakibara wipes his lips when water dribbled past them; she smiles gently and taps his arm with a playful punch. "Really… I am fine… and you better hurry, looks like Akashi is going to drag you over to them by the balls."

Murasakibara disgusted expression soon turned a little softer when he noticed Clara was smiling a little more like herself, he ruffles her hair lightly before turning to head back over to his team.

Midorima sighs as he crossed his arms.

"Mmm… do you even have a shot?" Midorima growled as he lifted Takao by the collar as the dangling teen laughed.

~!~

Aomine came back from his nap and noticed that Midorima had Takao by the collar; the darker skinned teen wandered what the brat did now. Aomine shrugged as he noticed his water bottle was filled. He blinked as he picked up the beverage. Did Kuroko do this?

Aomine looked over to Kuroko who was sitting next to Hyūga watching the game together. It was than that Aomine noticed that the game was just about to end in its third quarter, he was surprised how close the gap nevertheless because the game was now starting in the final five minutes that gap almost seemed like a 100 point canyon. Aomine walked over to Kuroko who was sipping on a milkshake.

"Oi Tetsu."

Kuroko looks up at the other. "How did you enjoy your nap?"

"Sore neck now… but thanks for filling up my water bottle, now I don't have to go and refill it." Aomine smirks but he noticed that Kuroko's expression hasn't changed. "What?"

"I didn't fill up your water bottle, Inari did." He pointed towards Clara who was sitting along with Sakurai as the two watched the game together; they seemed to be talking about different kind of recipes.

"Wow, you're amazing Sakurai!" Clara smiles as she praised the other teenager.

"Thank you, my mother is a chef in a small restaurant in Tokyo, she taught me everything I know." He chuckles with a small blush on his cheeks. "My father taught me a few himself because his father passed away at a young age, so his mother raised him."

Aomine watched the two getting along fairly well he figured. Suddenly Clara gasped that made Aomine jump. Clara looked like she was holding a picture and the two went into hush tones. Clara giggled as she handed the picture back to Sakurai.

"You dog you." Clara giggled again that made Sakurai blush heavily; Clara even did a playful punch tap on the boy's shoulder. Aomine suddenly grew curious as he strolled over.

"What are you two giggling on about?" Both Clara and Sakurai jumped from his sudden appearance.

"Sorry Aomine!" Sakurai immediately apologized and soon started to sprout about how he was a measly little flea, how he didn't… It just went on and on as both Clara and Aomine watch him.

Clara suddenly flicked Sakurai's forehead, causing the teen to gasp and hold his own little red spot, Clara smiles. "Don't you think you have someone to call?"

Sakurai smiles gently as he got up while taking his phone. Aomine and Clara both watched Sakurai step away from the everyone and start to talking on his phone. Aomine looked back to Clara.

"So you gonna tell me what that is all about?"

Clara smirks. "Sakurai has a girlfriend… he was just showing me a picture of her, she is a real beauty."

As Clara spoke Aomine's mouth went agape, than he scoffed. "Pffttt, please…"

Clara smirked more as Aomine got up and left to head back over to Kuroko but suddenly he turned around and sat next to Clara again, trying to really find out if she was telling the truth.

~!~

Akashi's team is being more formidable than before. It seemed with his pep talk during the half time break everyone was working a little harder than before. Murasakibara did another slam-dunk but unfortunately once Tatsuya claimed the ball he chucked the basketball down the court for Kagami to return the favor with his own signature dunk.

But even with the dunk the gap wasn't shrinking.

Kise panted as he looked at the time, it was well into the fourth quarter… three minutes left. "Well… I guess… maybe it's time? What about you Kagamicchi?"

Kise looked to Kagami then to Tatsuya, but it seemed his voice has fallen on Kagami's deaf ears, as the teenager's eyes were already sharp with focus. Taiga Kagami has entered the Zone. Kise chuckled; it was all the confirmation Kise needed as he went into a slouch posture. He looked on ahead with his eyes focused and soon enough he entered in his own devastating skill, Perfect Copy.

Everything seemed to work well; the redhead and blonde were able to make quick and easy shots making the point gap smaller and smaller. Kagami was able to get past Murasakibara while even Kise was able to pull a fast one on Akashi but it was only for a short time before Akashi's team pulled a devastating tactic. Because Kagami couldn't go into the true form of Zone he made mistakes, making passes that were either too fast for his teammate or too out of reach and Akashi's team was using that to their advantage. And it worked to the bitter end

The score ended on an eleven-point gap. Akashi shared a high five with his teammates but he had to dodge the high five with Hayakawa, as the teen seemed to swing his fists about in celebration, his speech completely drowned out by his speech impediment.

Kagami, Tatsuya, Kise, Kotaro, and Moriyama were all clearly upset but it seemed the five bounced back as they shared a good firm handshake and declaring their next match their victory. Akashi smiles gently as he firmly shook Kagami's hand a little longer.

"Next time we will make sure you and Tetsuya are on the same team…"

Kagami chuckled. "If I remembered correctly I did get pass you a few times this game."

Both teams laughed whole-heartedly, they all knew this game was only a prelude to the spring tournament that was fast approaching. There is where everything will be determined.

" ** _AFTER A TIGHT VICTORY, TEAM HYPE IS GOING TO THE FINALS TO UP AGAIN TEAM SLAM DUNK!_** " The MC screamed over the microphone. " ** _THE GAME WILL START IN 20 MINUTES!_** "

Akashi was about to pull the team together to discuss about their next appointment but saw that his Center was no longer with them. Akashi looked around and noticed that the giant was heading over to where Clara and Aomine were sitting.

Akashi sighed as he rub the bridge of his nose as Izuki and the other saw this as well. "Girls make gentlemen do crazy things…" Izuki gasped as he pulled his notebook out of nowhere as he began writing a new joke, which caused Wakamatsu to chuckle.

~!~

Clara smirked as she loved watching Aomine twist in his own curiosity anguish, ever since she told him that Sakurai had a girlfriend the male teen had been bugging her about if it was true not, Clara continued to say she was telling the truth but Aomine wouldn't buy it still. But it also didn't help that Clara was also saying the girl Sakurai was dating was a beauty.

"Ahhh! Just stop with the lies and tell me the truth!" Aomine complained.

Clara smirked. "Oh but I have, why won't you just accept that Sakurai is just as much of a lady catcher as you are?" Clara giggled as she watched teen twists again in agony.

"You are very cruel." Aomine said finally calming down.

"Oi Cookie."

Clara and Aomine both look up as Murasakibara's body towered over the two. Aomine felt a slight pressure as Murasakibara glared down at them, well at Aomine more so than with Clara.

"Hey Murasakibara! Congratulations on the win!" Clara smiles as she gets up from her spot and soon as she does the basketball prodigy is suddenly pulling her away by the arm. Clara blinked. "Is something the matter?"

"We need to change your bandages again… we have to make sure they're not getting worse." Murasakibara declared as he continued to pull Clara along towards the infirmary tent.

"But Murasakibara, my knees are fine, you did a great job wrapping them up." Clara stopped in her tracks, which made the taller teen to stop as well. "Come on… what is it?"

Murasakibara didn't look back at Clara. "I don't like it…"

Clara chuckled gently. "You don't like what?"

"I don't like how you are so friendly with… some of the guys…" Murasakibara grumbled out as he started to puff his cheeks out like a child.

Clara laughed gently causing the giant to turn around and clamp down on her head with his large hand. "You seriously want me to crush you…."

"Are you jealous?" Clara asked outright with a teasing smile on her face and it looked like she also wanted to know something too.

Murasakibara blushed brightly as he didn't look away. "Yeah I am!"

It was Clara's turn to blush as she stepped back away from Murasakibara, she was surprised that he admitted it; she thought he would react more like a child and deny it. "W-what? Why?"

Murasakibara was quite for sometime as Clara waited patiently for his answer, if Murasakibara would pay very close attention he could probably hear her rapid heart beat. Murasakibara than slowly looked up at her with his cheeks still bright red, he finally turned to her fully, his face deeply flushed.

"I just…" Clara swallowed a lump in her throat, as she almost couldn't take the anticipation. "I just don't want you baking for others…"

Clara's eyes widen and soon she started laughing making Murasakibara growl in annoyance, after a moment Clara was finally able to calm down her laughter as she wipes away a small tear as she looks up at him. "Don't worry that childish brain of yours." She chuckled again. "I would only give you the good stuff and give the left overs to the others." Clara looked over towards the courts and saw Akashi waving towards them. "Looks like Akashi needs you back over now." Clara gets behind Murasakibara and pushed him towards the game. "Get going and good luck!"

Murasakibara smiles gently as he waved as he walked back over to his teammates.

Clara stayed behind as she watched his tall form retreat. Even though she said that, Clara couldn't help the small sigh to escape her mouth as she rubbed her right arm, "Why… does it hurt…?" She took a deep unsteady breath than exhaled before she jogged back over like nothing happened.

~!~

'I don't want others to get close to you… ' Murasakibara thought to himself of what he really wanted to tell Clara and it was bugging the living hell out of him as to WHY he wanted to say that, it's not like he likes the girl or anything, right? Murasakibara thought back to Clara's expression after he said that, she looked like she wasn't bothered by it but something in the pit of his stomach says that she was. The giant sighed as he continued to listen to Akashi discuss about the next game against Aomine and Kuroko.

"Atsushi, I need you to make sure that Aomine doesn't breath through your defenses, it will be clearly up to you to shut him down, I will take on Tetsuya." Akashi continued to list out the plans for the game as he puts out his hand in the middle of the group. "On three…"

Team Hype did their little battle cry before they got into positions for the tip off.

Aomine got in front of Murasakibara for the two to run the tip off. Murasakibara felt a twinge of irritation as he looked on at Aomine. Murasakibara really didn't like how he saw how Aomine was talking with Clara, like they've been friends for years… even though Aomine was being teased by Clara but in Murasakibara's eyes they were getting too close for his own comfort.

Aomine sighed. "What? You have been glaring at me practically all day…"

Murasakibara shook his head. "Just thinking about how much I am gonna enjoy crushing you Mine-chin…"

Aomine smirked. "WE'LL see about that Murasakibara…"

The referee came over with the ball. Aomine gulped lightly as he saw that Murasakibara was already fired up about this game, even so Aomine kind of felt excited about going up against Murasakibara again, besides Kise, Murasakibara was another player Aomine could seriously play his best against. The referee looked between the two.

"Play nice boys…" He stated as a warning as he blew his whistle and hefts the ball in the air. As soon as it leaves his hand the two jumped for it.

The final battle of the tournament began at last.

The ball was smacked to the side towards Sakurai and Kasamatsu, both were ready to nab it but never had the chance when Izuki came out of nowhere to snatch the ball away before passing it to Akashi.

"Nice job Izuki!" Akashi said loudly as he dribbled the ball down as the other scrambled to get into place. Aomine stuck close to Murasakibara on the defense, his back was to giant as he tried to keep him in place. Murasakibara didn't look too impressed as he saw a hole he could break away from but as soon as he caught the ball Kuroko left his post to help block Murasakibara. Murasakibara growled as he started to feel the pressure. He couldn't break away now because if he did he would be charged a foul.

Murasakibara looked to the side and saw that Kasamatsu was heading in for the screen, it was just enough that he was able to get back to make for a lay up but Aomine seemed to have read the move and jumped to try to block the ball but the strength of Murasakibara was too much for Aomine as the giant was able to smack the ball down. Both teens were already starting to sweat as they stared at each other. Murasakibara stood up straight and made his way back to the other side to go on defense.

Aomine smirked as he started to feel riled up and he was, during the first and second quarter Aomine wasn't holding anything back, as soon as he gets the ball he would drive in and attempt to make his signature hook shot or anything that would count. Sakurai was also being helpful with his Quick-Shot release whenever Aomine wasn't open, Kasamatsu was having some trouble defending against Akashi but he was doing well when he goes into offense mode because of his amazing dribbling skills that almost rivaled Akashi's ankle breaker. Kuroko and Takao were working together to help out as much as they could, making any of their shots count when they had a chance to shot.

But of course they were getting cornered quickly by Akashi and Murasakibara's even better offense, it was nearly impossible to stop the giant brute as he continued to make easy bunny shots as well as a slam dunk or two. Akashi's emperor eye was making things rather difficult but whenever that happened Kuroko tried to be there to help nullify it quickly but that still didn't stop Akashi from performing his ankle breaker on Kuroko and the others. Soon the fourth quarter was coming to a quick end but the score was tied! The time continued to click down faster as both teams were trying to score desperately. But it was too late as the buzzer sounded loudly into the air.

The score was 57 to 57. Both teams were panting heavily, sweating heavily. The officials got together to figure out on a tiebreaker. Akashi pulled his teammates together.

"How is everyone on their stamina?" He panted heavily just as much as the others.

"Sorry to say but I am running on fumes…" Izuki stated as he took a swig of his water, everyone else also nodded as well.

Akashi started to think about a strategy just in case if they had to go into over time but before he could really formulate a plan the referee came over to announce to both teams and the audience.

"Because the day is drawing to a close we are going to end the game one a sudden death point breaker." The referee started to explain how it was going to work, the teams were going to play like normally, they will start with a tip off and the first team to make a point would win the game. Both teams nodded in agreement as they were given a few minutes to talk amongst each other.

Clara appeared out of nowhere and gave each of the players their water bottles and even some left over protein bars, she smiled at everyone told them all they were doing a one hell of a job out there, everyone she heard in the stands couldn't believe how talented everyone was. Kasamatsu was beaming with pride and somehow Izuki came up with a joke that caused some of the players to snicker in amusement. Clara went over to Murasakibara and handed him his water bottle as well as a protein bar. Murasakibara didn't take the protein bar right away, remembering the awful flavor he had last time but Clara's smile made him take the snack anyways.

"Keep at it! You're doing great." Clara chuckled lightly as she turned to the others but not before looking at Murasakibara. "And just eat the bar it is different from the last one." Clara than went over to Kuroko's team and did the same thing, she handed out water bottles and her remaining protein bars. Murasakibara looked at the bar and he was very hesitant, he looked to the others to see if he could just hand off the bar to one of them but Clara did say it was different from the one he originally had at first and having your stomach growl did help much either. He had been so busy with the tournament he forgot to eat his other bag of chips causing the hunger pains he was suffering now. Murasakibara sighed as he bit into the protein bar and noticed how sweet it was. He blinked as he looked down at the bar, it was good, and it was a lot better than what he had before. He looked to Clara and saw she watching him the whole time. She smiles and mouthed.

'Is it good?'

Murasakibara could only give her thumbs up as he enjoyed the rest of the bar. Clara giggled as she left the court with the now empty water bottles. Soon both teams got back into positions, it seemed time was working slowly now as the referee explained the rules on last time. Murasakibara and Aomine were at the tip off line, ready for this one and final chance at winning. Soon the ball was sent flying into the air, making both teens jumping at the same time. The air on the court seemed thick as everyone watched in anticipation as Murasakibara took hold of the ball quick and snapped it back to Akashi. Akashi took that chance and made a fast break towards the hoop but Aomine caught up quickly to smack the ball away. Kuroko was there just in time to catch the ball and than made an Ignite Pass down the court towards Kasamatsu but before the ball could reach the former Kaijō captain Hayakawa got the ball and snapped it to Murasakibara who was at the right spot to make the perfect bunny shot.

But once again Sakurai smacked the ball out of the air.

"I am sorry!" He screamed as he passed the ball back to Aomine and in that quick moment Aomine entered in the zone and charged down the court as quickly but he wasn't the only one as Murasakibara was able to catch up with the darker skin teenager. Both players stared each other down as Aomine jumped high in the air, Murasakibara didn't waste and time and did the same thing just as the ball left Aomine's hands Murasakibara was able to smack the ball away. When the ball was in his possession Murasakibara snapped the ball to Wakamatsu who was actually underneath their basket. Aomine saw this and ran as quickly as he could but unfortunately he couldn't make it in time as Wakamatsu made the shot. The whistle blew loud in the air.

~!~

The MC screamed into his microphone. " _ **TEAM HYPE HAS WON THE TOURNAMENT! THEY TRUELY ARE THE HYPE!**_ "

The winning team screamed, shouted, laughed, and surprisingly as did Aomine's team, even Aomine was laughing. All four of the teams that made it to the quarter finals started to give each other high fives, even Nebuya who couldn't play at all was giving everyone a high five and cheering with the other.

Clara sat at the bench in amazement. She didn't really expect this kind of reaction, she was sure that Aomine would be pissed that he lost but he looked like he had the most fun out of any one of them. Clara smiled brightly as she watched the group continue their celebration. Suddenly Clara felt many eyes on her and soon she was pulled into the mass of guys who wanted her to join them in the celebration, as she was apart of the whole with them. Nebuya ruffled her hair harshly.

"Thanks for filling in for me chicka." He laughed as Clara smiled brightly. Tatsuya pulled Clara and Murasakibara close together and the three Yōsen students soon started laughing together, Clara didn't notice it but Murasakibara pulled her a little closer to him but whether she noticed or not she didn't care, she truly didn't want anything to ruin this moment, she was so happy to be apart of something fun that she wished this feeling would last forever.

~!~

At that moment, back in Clara's hometown a young man of the age of 25 at around six feet in height, waited patiently for his plane to arrive. He took off his sunglasses and started to clean them off as he spotted some dirt on one of the lenses. He ran a hand through his wavy brown hair before pushing his sunglasses back on his head, making his hair slick back. His thick, built body got the attention of a lot of women. Some whispered to their girlfriends, giggling and pointing, some even attempted to fan themselves.

The young man pulled out his phone and started to browse the web to read articles in a sports section, he mostly looked at the American Football articles, as he continued to read and chuckle at certain pages, a voice over the speaker system announced loudly.

"Now boarding Flight 463, to Akita at gate 5-32."

The young man looked up at the electrical board to confirm the announcer's claim and soon made his way to the boarding doors. Before he turned off his phone he went back to his phone's home screen where it showed a background picture of him kissing a smiling Clara on the cheek as she hugged him around the neck, the young man smiled at the picture, examining the details before shutting it down.

The mysterious figure boarded the plane that soon took off towards Akita.

~!~

ALRIGHT! THE TOURNAMENT IS OVER! Are you guys surprised on the winner of the tournament? Who is that guy at the airport?! Why does he have a picture of himself and Clara?! Oh gosh! I wonder what is going to happen… oh wait! I do know! Haha I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter and I hope see you guys again next time!

Thank you again for everyone who has added this story to their favorites/followers list, it really does make me happy that you guys love this story as much as much as I write it. Please let me know how you really feel in your reviews, I love reading what you think! The good and the bad! I do wanna grow as a writer! Anyways! I hope you guys continue to like this! See you next time!


	11. Chapter 11

The mysterious figure finally arrived in the Akita Airport. Dark sunglasses covered the man's eyes as he scanned the terminal for any signs that could lead him to baggage claim. When he realized he couldn't see well with the sunglasses on he gently took the spectacles off to place them on top of his head. While also sweeping a few of his long golden brown bangs back. The man blinked when he noticed he dropped something on the floor as he leaned down to pick up the item but his long hair spilled around his shoulders, annoying him to no end. He sighed and once he picked up his fallen item he reached behind to tie his hair back in a low pony. Once he was done he felt like someone was watching him. The young man looked to the side and saw an attractive woman looking towards him. He smiled gently as he waved slightly, causing the woman to turn away in embarrassment. The man chuckled as he walked forward to head out of the airport.

As the guy descended down the escalator to baggage claim he stretched his long body as he felt some tension build up from the flight; even though the ride wasn't extremely long he still had problems just sitting around doing nothing. The man sighed in content as he felt and also heard a few popping noises, making his body relax and feel less tense. Once he touched down on the bottom he noticed the room was pretty jammed packed with people rushing to get their baggage. He even lurched forward slightly when someone pushed against his back. He groaned a little as he tried to make his way through the crowd. Calling out 'pardons' and 'excuse me' as he squeezed his way through. Once he was out and by the conveyor belt he sighed in relief.

He waited patiently for his bag to arrive. Soon enough a familiar and rather large duffle bag appeared from the chute. He snatched it up and made his way out to the streets, still keeping an eye out for his ride.

Soon an hour went by and the man looked slightly worried and slightly annoyed. He brought out his cellphone find out what is keeping his ride when suddenly the phone started to ring in his hand.

"Ren! Jeez man, you had me worried, thought you abandoned me…"

" _Sorry Toya, but there is only room for one of those in this family_." A stern voiced said over the cellphone, causing Toya to nearly drop his phone.

"Damn, deserved that one…" Toya chuckled. "So where are you?"

" _Sorry Toya, I am going to be a little late… this photo shoot is taking a lot longer than expected_." Ren sounded agitated.

"Yeesh… What is wrong?" Toya flagged down a taxi as he continued to talk to his brother.

" _Nothing, the model is being a baby because I told her the truth…_ " Ren growled and Toya thought he could hear some other angry voice. " _Than you tell her damn manager to tell HER that I can't do anything about her partner rescheduling!_ " Ren shouted back.

Toya had to pull the phone away because all the shouting started to hurt his ear. Ren is actually pretty usually stoical when he isn't on a photo shoot but when he is and manages to get pissed off like he is now he doesn't hold anything back when something is on his mind.

" _Sorry Toya…_ " Ren growled. " _Anyways, you might as well go to Clara's place ahead of me… I won't be able to make it until late… you have her address?_ "

Toya nodded. "Yes, I have it. So what is our little sister up to?"

Ren sighed. " _If you would have kept in touch with her you would know…_ "

"I know… but I am trying to make up for lost time…" Toya sounded sincere was he climbed in the taxi.

" _Five years a hell of a long time man…_ " Ren sighed. " _But glad to know you snapped back to your senses…_ "

"I snapped back years ago… I just... I couldn't…" Toya attempted to speak his mind but he couldn't get the right words out as he messaged the bridge of his nose. "I was a coward… I was so afraid she would flat out hate me for what I have done…"

Ren growled, " _Seriously? You know Clara wouldn't hold a grudge… she is more worried about you to even consider hating you… you know she still…._ "

"I know!" Toya snapped back at the phone but than calmed down. "I know… "

Ren sighed over the phone again as his own voice became softer. " _She is going to Yōsen High._ "

Toya snapped out of his depressed state to whistle. "Wow… good for her, they're a good school." Toya chuckled. "Has she joined the volleyball team?"

" _No… unfortunately she didn't make the cut._ "

"What?!" Toya shouted. "Why? She is an amazing player wh…"

" _They had a full roster, they didn't even try to audition her… it pissed me off when she called to tell me that… but… she actually didn't sound too upset, which is surprising…_ "

Toya blinked. "Really? Huh… I wonder what happened."

" _I don't know. When I talked to her that night she said a classmate of hers helped cheered her up by finding that necklace grandma gave her._ " Ren said gently, Toya even went quite.

"Well… that is good… I will have to tell them 'thank you' myself…" Toya thought back to their smiling grandma. It was thanks to her that their mother was able to get back on her feet after their father left and than after Clara was born. It was also thanks to her that Clara came out to be the sweet girl she is now. Toya snickered.

" _What?_ "

Ren asked with a littler interest in his voice.

"I was just thinking that Clara has grandma's stubborn attitude." The twins chuckled.

Suddenly the mood went sour when Ren pulled the phone away shouting clearly for Toya to hear.

" _Fine! Fire her ass if she doesn't want too corporate! Call that Mai Horikita girl! At least SHE is a PROFESSIONAL!_ " Ren shouted and soon sighed over the phone. " _Toya I have to go and save my shoot… again._ "

The brothers said their farewells and hung up.

"Sounds like your brother has a lot on his plate." The Taxi driver said from the front. "Sorry, it was hard to miss from all the shouting on his side of the phone."

Toya chuckled. "No problem, yeah he does… but I have a bigger plate when I get to my destination…"

Toya looked out the car window to watch the passing cars and objects. Thinking back on the past.

'Chill out Toya! It was an accident!' Ren's voice echoed through his mind.

Clara stood in the middle of the living, her face ashen, eyes widen, and tears ready to spill out.

'Shut it!' Toya's voice screamed in his mind. 'Just because she is our younger sister doesn't mean I can't lay it on her when she has fucked up! I knew I shouldn't have come back! I knew it!'

'Toya…' Clara's voice squeaked out. 'I am sorry… please…'

Toya clenched his fist as he remembers Clara's last words to him right before he left.

' _Please… Don't hate me…_ '

Toya was draft picked to be apart of the NFL it was his dream. He worked his ass off and he was picked finally. When their mother moved to the States after their father left to be with his girlfriend Toya found his outlet in football, he took all his anger and frustration of his father and applied that in football. Ren did the same with his photography.

After a while Toya found he loved football so much that the anger faded away into love for the sport and he was so impressive that he was scouted by college scouts and than was scouted to be drafted in the NFL. Everything was coming together until Clara wanted her brother to come and see her championship volleyball game back in Japan. Of course Toya wanted more than anything to see his amazing sister play.

However… on his way home he got into an accident that damaged his knee. He was told he wouldn't play again, even if he went to rehab. Ever since Toya blamed Clara but he avoided her because he knew he would snap at her but it was only a matter of time when things would blow out of proportions.

When it did, Toya didn't hold anything back with his words. After that he left and didn't look back. While he was on his travels he finally realized his ultimate mistake. It wasn't Clara's fault; it wasn't anyone's fault. But the anger he held was so great he had to blame someone and Clara was unfortunately the one he took his anger out on. Now he is back to make things right and join rehab. After talking with an experience trainer there was a chance he could still realize his dream but before any of that, he had to make things right with his sister.

The taxicab finally pulled into Clara's apartment complex. Toya got out after paying the driver and retrieving his bags. He was hit with a wave of nerves. Different scenarios went through his mind and all of them ended with Clara screaming and telling him to never speak to her again.

Toya collapsed, not able to handle the possibility of her rejecting his apology but Toya of course wouldn't blame Clara if she did. Toya took a deep breath and turned to head towards Clara's apartment feeling his determination coming back. However, he stopped in his tracks when he witnessed several boys leaving Clara's apartment. Toya's mouth went agape.

' _What the hell?!_ ' He shouted in his thoughts.

Toya counted five guys that left Clara's apartment, each one of them were impressive in height, except for two. Toya continued to feel his anger rising. What the hell are these guys doing in her apartment?

~!~

Clara stood in her apartment's kitchen making dinner for the five guys that decided on themselves that they deserved a home cooked meal after a long day of playing street basketball. Clara looked towards the living seeing Murasakibara eating a newly purchased bag of potato chips. Takao was playing poker with both Aomine and Kuroko, it seemed the three were highly skilled in the card game because none of them back down. Aomine had a bored expression; Takao had a conniving smirk while Kuroko was just, expressionless.

But Clara wasn't working on dinner alone, she had Shintarō Midorima right next to her helping her cut vegetable after vegetable, while Clara was cutting the meat and frying it. They were going to have a simple beef and broccoli with white rice. Clara caught herself staring at Midorima's workmanship. The veggies were cut way out of proportion; some were still too big while others seemed too small nonetheless Clara appreciated the effort and the help.

"Thank you for helping Midorima, you certainly didn't have to." Clara smiled gently as Midorima handed her a bowl of the uneven broccoli and carrot cuts.

"It's no problem… you helped us when we needed it and now we are imposing on you and having you make us dinner. It's the least I could do." Midorima could feel himself blushing slightly when Clara turned towards him with that smile of hers. The teen had to turn away before his face got redder. So he took that moment to grab the soy sauce for Clara however coming face to face with a certain purple hair giant certainly drained the red from his face faster than the cool fridge.

"You look like you're having fun…" Murasakibara's voice rolled off the tongue in his usual bored tone towards the green hair teen, except it had bit more of a bite. Midorima didn't back down as he gave his own glare. Clara didn't seem to notice the confrontation as she was quickly cutting the bigger pieces that Midorima sliced into more bite size pieces.

"I am helping after everyone decided to impose on Inari's good nature after the tournament and you've been taken advantage of her the most Murasakibara…" Midorima said coolly as he adjusted his glasses. Murasakibara felt his blood boil. The two continued glaring at each other.

Takao appeared next to Clara out of nowhere and began to help fry the food in the skillet and surprisingly, he was very good at it, he flip the food slightly in the air with the curve of the skillet while moving the contents around. Murasakibara and Midorima have yet to notice his presence until his voice snaps them out of their glaring contest.

"Hey if you two numbskulls are not going to do anything why don't you go back into the living room or set up the table!" Midorima spun on his heel to gape at his teammate for taking his spot next to Clara. Murasakibara was less than pleased as well.

Suddenly it wasn't just Takao anymore but also Kuroko, who started setting the table. And to make matters worse is when Aomine took advantage of shocked moment between his ex-teammates to snatch the soy sauce from Midorima to hand it to Clara.

"Oi, you need this right?" Aomine has a 'cool' tone to his voice as he dangled the soy sauce in front of Clara. Aomine smirked to himself as he was going to make Clara jump to snatch the bottle from him but when Clara looked up at Aomine with a soft and gently smile the darker skin teenager stood dumbstruck as the blonde gently took the sauce from him.

"Wow, even you can be nice once in a while." Clara chuckled as she turned back to the skillet and added some sauce while Takao continued to fry the food. Aomine was still staring into space as his mind kept replaying Clara's smile.

"Aomine, you're turning red." Kuroko said besides Aomine, causing the teen to snap out of his stupor. Aomine took that moment to hurry back in the living room, trying to hide the small blush that was creeping on to his face.

Murasakibara felt a twinge in his chest again when he saw how both Midorima and now Aomine looked at Clara and it was pissing him off. Usually he wouldn't even care but whenever Clara made that adorable smile towards the others and not towards him…

Murasakibara stopped his thoughts at that moment, what was he thinking? Murasakibara corrected himself, thinking that he didn't want Clara to bake for others besides him, yeah that was it…

The giant turned his attention to Clara who was pouring the finished beef and broccoli in a container to take to the table. She turned and met Murasakibara's stare, to which she smiled gently towards him. Murasakibara felt like he just swallowed his heart after it decided to leap in his throat.

"Food is ready, I actually made you some cream stew because I put carrots in the beef and broccoli." Clara held out a large bowl for Murasakibara who stared down at the creamy stew filled with what appears to be chicken and dumplings.

"Thank you…" Murasakibara's gratitude made Clara smile more brightly.

Dinner finally started. Everyone began to dig in fast as the food began to disappear like magic.

"Wow, everyone is hungry I guess." Clara chuckled as she scooped up some food to put in a bowl. Clara looked at the food and started to wonder if she made enough for everyone. But it looked like everyone had a descent amount of food on their plate, which made Clara sigh in relief. "How is it?"

Takao smirked as he took a bite of a piece of broccoli. "It's really good, thank you for making this."

"Thank you very much." Kuroko stated softly as he look a bite of rice.

"You are welcome but also thank Midorima and Takao they helped as well." Clara said quickly to make sure everyone who helped with the cooking had a proper thank you from everyone.

Aomine chuckled as he held up an extremely diced down piece of broccoli. "I don't know if you should 'thank' Midorima here, he is almost as bad as Satsuki when it comes to cooking." Aomine took a bite of his food when he got the reaction he wanted from Midorima.

Clara shook her head. "Actually, because of Midorima we were able to eat a lot faster than if he didn't help, so…" Clara turned to Midorima and smiled gently. "Thank you again for your help."

Clara's smile nearly made Aomine choke on his food, thinking he made Midorima seem less cool because of his poor cooking skills but it seemed to have backfired as Midorima said something towards Clara. Even Murasakibara didn't seem too happy that the green hair teen had gotten praised from the blonde as well. Soon dinner came to a close as everyone began to pile their dishes into the sink. Clara rolled up her sleeves, ready to get started on the dishes when suddenly she was lifted up in the air and carried into her living room.

"Eh?!" Clara exclaimed as she saw that Murasakibara picked her up bridal style and carried her into the living room.

"Rest Cookie… let us clean up the kitchen, you did after all make us dinner." Murasakibara said gently as he sat her down on his sofa. Clara's face was beat red when Murasakibara turned to head back into the kitchen where the boys started cleaning up the mess.

Clara leaned back against the sofa as she watched the guys from her sitting spot. She giggled when Murasakibara and Aomine were arguing because both one didn't want to dry the dishes, that is until Kuroko jabbed both teens in their sides, defusing the fight and actually got both of them drying the dishes. Midorima and Takao were clearing the table as well as putting any extra food into containers as leftovers.

"Oi! Inari! Where the hell does this thing go?" Aomine shouted, waving the skillet in hand. Clara gapped as she got up from her spot and went towards the kitchen.

"It's fine, just put the dishes in the drying rack and I can put every away later, you guys helped enough!" Clara gapped when she stepped into the kitchen everything was practically sparkling.

Aomine smirked. "Your face is going to get stuck."

Clara went red in the face as she looked away. "Shut it, I just can't believe you guys were able to clean up the kitchen so fast…" She mumbled as she stepped back as the guys began to leave the kitchen.

"Ahhh!" Aomine yawned, as well as Murasakibara. "I think it time for me to head home, I got a lot of reading to get to." Aomine smirked when he imagined his beloved Mako-chan magazine waiting for him at home but his gaze went to Clara as she started to pick up around the living room where the guys played their poker game. Suddenly his face flushed red as he started to imagine… things…

Aomine shook his head as he looked to Kuroko. "Let's go Tetsu."

Kuroko nodded and bowed slightly to Clara. "Thank you for the meal, it was really good."

"You are welcome, glad you enjoyed it."

Just as the two left the building Aomine ruffled Clara's hair gently without looking at her and soon disappeared down the steps with his friend.

Clara showed them the door, than it was Takao who said his thanks before leaving her apartment. Midorima stayed behind slightly looking down at Clara.

"Thank you again for everything, you helped more than you know today." Midorima smiled gently for only Clara to see. "I wish you a speedy recovery." He said gently gesturing towards Clara's newly bandage knees.

"You are very welcome, I am just glad I was there at the right time to help you." Clara chuckled when she turned her attention to her knees. "Don't worry, I have gone through worse with volleyball."

Midorima finally turned to leave and soon it was just Murasakibara and Clara. Just as Murasakibara was about to say something Clara gasped and went past the giant, leaving the boy confused until Clara came back with a bag.

"While we were cooking I was able to make your congratulations cake." Clara giggled as she held out the cute blue and purple bag. "I hope you enjoy it."

Murasakibara looked in the bag and saw a clear container and within it was a small, medium size cake that had congratulations written with icing and riddled with confetti sprinkles and strawberries.

Murasakibara looked at Clara with sparkles in his eyes. "Thank you…"

Clara felt her heart rushing from Murasakibara's adorable expression she almost couldn't stand it but with a squeak in her voice she acknowledged his gratitude. Just as Clara was about to say her goodbye for the night an angry shout came from the parking lot.

Clara and the guys looked towards the disturbance to see a beefy man with golden brown hair tied in a low ponytail with sunglasses on top of his head. He marched his way over glaring at every single of them. Murasakibara stared down at the guy wondering exactly why this stranger was getting so worked up about. Murasakibara felt something clutched at his sleeve as he looked down at Clara who looked ashen in the face and she was shaking! Why does she look so terrified all of a sudden?

"Cookie? What is it?" At Murasakibara's voice the others soon took noticed in Clara's sudden change in demeanor. "Do you know this guy?"

"Toya…"

Murasakibara looked a little confused, he had no idea who this Toya was, but clearly Clara is upset about seeing him suddenly. Toya started towards the stairs with anger in his eyes but stopped short with Aomine blocked his path. Both men glared at each other, neither one of them backing down.

"What is going on here?" Toya said in a low tone but he didn't address it towards Aomine or at any of the other guys but to Clara. "Who are these guys and why were they in your apartment Clara!" Suddenly Toya gasped and grew furious as he pointed towards Clara's knees. "What the fuck happened to your knees?!"

Aomine continued to block the man's path not letting him even taking a step, even though the guy never made any sudden movements, until suddenly Aomine found himself sitting on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Clara looked worried as she tried to make a move down the stairs to check on Aomine but Murasakibara kept her close by, not really knowing what this guy would do to Clara if he got close to her.

"Aomine." Kuroko took Clara's place to check on Aomine, who was rubbing his backside; he looked pissed. However just as Aomine looked like he was about go after the asshole another figure went past him and Kuroko.

Murasakibara remained where he stood as he shields Clara from this man's impending advances. Midorima stood as the next line of defense but the man's reflexes were incredible as Midorima found himself pushed against the stair's railing. Clara gasped when Midorima hissed from the slight pain on his back.

"Hey! Get yo- GAH!" Toya nearly did a face plant on the staircase when his head was smacked roughly from behind; he regained his balance and turned to face the new figure that appeared out of nowhere. The cold voice from the newcomer made Takao uneasy, more so than what this Toya has ever did up to this point, even Toya looked worried as he stared

"Ren…" Clara said with relief.

"Knock it off, Toya, can't you see you're scaring our sister?" Ren looked almost like Toya, well, face wise but his physique was more slender and toned, completely opposite to Toya's beefier body. Ren's hair was also a more darker brown, with the sides of his head buzzed cut while the top portion was longer and tied in a topknot.

Ren looked towards Clara, his face soften, "Long time no see Lottie."

Clara nodded. "Long time…"

After some introductions and a little convincing Clara was able to reassure her friends that she will be fine with her brothers, especially now that Ren was there, but Murasakibara still looked hesitant when he left with the others.

Back in Clara's apartment, the blonde teen was in the kitchen fixing up some tea, she was visibly shaken from the events that happened moments ago. While she was making tea the brothers sat in her living room. Toya is still clearly upset about Clara having boys over but Ren actually looked like he was okay with it, as he remained calm as he checked his emails.

Ren sighed after a while and shuts his phone, looking towards his twin, "You do know Clara isn't a little girl, she can take care of herself."

"But she is still a girl, those five could have easily jumped her…" Toya said with a growl in his words.

"And you know she has a good sense of judgment, she wouldn't have invited them over if she didn't trust them." Ren said as he leaned back against the sofa with his legs crossed. Ren didn't look like he was listening as he stared at Clara in the kitchen; she hasn't spoken a word to either one of them since she invited them into her home.

Clara started to stack the cups and hot water on a small tray when suddenly her phone flashed showing she missed some messages. She blinked when she saw she missed eight of them. Clara blinked.

"Eh?"

' _Oi! You tell that ass of a brother of yours I will kick his ass next time I meet him!_ ' Aomine's text surprised her, when did he get her number?

' _I apologize if we gotten you in trouble with your family, Inari._ ' Clara smiled gently at Midorima's text. Takao also sent Clara a text with a similar message.

But the text that made her smile brightly the most was Murasakibara's text or rather a picture text. It was a selfie of Murasakibara eating his celebration cake while giving her the thumbs up. Clara giggled gently as she texted back.

' _Glad you are enjoying it._ '

Clara was about to put her phone away when suddenly it buzzed again.

' _You gonna be okay, Cookie?_ ' Murasakibara sent another text that gave Clara a smile.

' _Yes, sorry if I made you worry, I will text you in a bit._ '

Clara than left her phone on the counter as she went to pick up the tray but only to find it in Toya's hands. The blonde felt her body tense as she and her brother stared at each other. Clara felt her hands shaking slightly as that day five years ago replayed in her mind over and over again.

Clara's face paled more as the silence between the two lengthens. During that moment Toya was also thinking back to that time and he was speechless. There were so many things he wanted to say, things he NEEDED to say but every time he tried to form words nothing sounded right.

"Clara… I… Ah!" Just when he found his voice Clara had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Lottie…"

Toya said the little nickname he gave Clara when they were children. And just like when they were kids, he was helpless to her tears. Clara shook her head as she started to wipe the tears that started to fall but more continued to flow no matter how much she tried to stop them. Toya set down the tray and pulled his sister into a tight embrace. The sudden movement shocked Clara to no end.

"I am… so sorry Lottie…" Toya's voice cracked. "I know… me saying that won't change what I have said those years ago but… I want to make amends." Toya sounded completely sincere as he caressed Clara's back, laying his head on her shoulder. Clara kept quite as Toya spoke, even way after he finished.

Toya started to feel dejected as she remained quite. Was Clara really not going to forgive him? But what should he have expected? That she was going to forgive him right off the bat that everything he said to her that day would just roll of her shoulder? He knew it was too good to hope for but still he hoped. Toya frowned heavily as he started to pull away but suddenly Clara wraps her arms around his waist, tightening her grip as she buried her face into his chest.

"I am the one who should be sorry… I ruined…"

Toya felt his chest tighten, " ** _No!_** "

Clara jumped from Toya's sudden shout; she looked up at her brother as he stared down at her tear stained face.

"You did nothing wrong… you wanted me to be there for you at a important game and I got into an accident along the way, it's not like you were the one who caused the accident." Toya cupped Clara's wet cheeks in his hands staring deeply into her eyes. "None of what happened to me was your fault…"

Clara stared up at her brother, as she felt the whole world finally release it's self from her shoulders. Clara felt her chest tighten as she once again buried her face into his chest, hugging him tightly, sobbing away. Toya smiles weakly as he gently held her back, tears forming in his eyes as well.

Ren stood in the doorway with a smile on his face as he pulled out his camera and took a picture of the two and sighed. "What a Kodak moment." Ren smirked as Toya snapped his attention from their sister onto Ren.

"A moment, which you just ruined." Toya snarled but soon the three siblings started laughing as they hugged each other tightly.

"The Inari siblings are back together again." Toya said with a smile, it was a great moment for them until...

"Now that we got that out of the way, which one of those guys is your boyfriend? Or should I just pummel them all?" Ren and Toya actually said in unison, Toya searched for Clara's phone, even Ren was cracking his knuckles, itching for a fight.

"Ah! Found her phone!"

Clara squeaked as she tried to reach for her phone only for it to be snatched by Toya, who than started to rummage through her messages. Clara screamed.

"Stop it Toya!" Clara whined as she tried to reach for her phone.

"Which one is Daiki? Was it that ass I threw to the ground?" Toya said with a scoff. "He is no good if he can't even block a simple shove!" Clara continued to reach for her phone as Ren started to look in her phone along with Toya.

"Shintaro? What a stupid name." Ren said with a dull tone. "Bet he is obsessed with trinkets or stamps." The twins snickered.

Clara started to grow angry as her face turned red. "Stop it you guys! They're my friends! Stop making fun of them!" She jumped and finally took hold of her phone but only for it to be snatched away again.

"Murasaki?" Who names their kid with the color purple in it?" Toya snickered until he yelped in pain, as did Ren when Clara punched them both in the sides.

"That's enough!" Clara growled and finally took her phone back. "For your information I don't have a boyfriend! I haven't even kissed a boy yet!" Clara screamed, her face glowing red after she admitted a dark secret.

Toya spread his arms out. "I will give you your first kiss!"

Clara looked at her brother with disgust. "Ew!" She smacked his face with a magazine that was close by before retreating into the living room. "I have school in the morning, so I am gonna go to bed!"

Clara's face was still pink but before she went to her room she went back to the kitchen, she didn't look at her brothers as she mumbled.

"If you don't mind the floor or sofa, I have extra blankets and pillows in the closet." Clara gestured toward the closet she just mentioned. "Good night… Ren… Toya.." Clara looked at her brothers with a smile, who returned the smile.

"Goodnight."

"Night Lottie."

~!~

The morning came with the sun shining brightly down. The light that spilled into Clara's room shone gently into her eyes but that wasn't what woke her up from her deep sleep but the amazing smell of food. Clara felt her nostrils picked up the wonderful aroma of pancakes… hash browns… and bacon! Clara's eyes snapped open as she quickly got up and ran straight to her kitchen. The ponytail she wore was messed and tussled about from the long night of sleep, she attempted to fix it as she entered into her kitchen to see her two brothers working their way around the kitchen.

"Good morning!" She exclaimed as she looked between the two, she had a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning! Thought we make breakfast sense you let us stay the night." Ren smiled gently just as he flipped a pancake on a large stack.

"Who knew you wore such bold undies…" Toya smirked teasingly at the different colored flower undies Clara had on.

Suddenly there were shouts of pain and cursing emitting from Clara's apartment.

Clara was blushing madly as she turned on her heels to quickly change into her school clothing while she left her brothers on the floor with bumps and bruises forming on their head and faces.

Ren groaned as he picked himself up. "How did I get wrapped up in her wraith when it was you who was being a pervert!" Ren rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head.

As both brothers started to set the table Clara finished getting read herself for school, she came back to the kitchen, tying her hair up in a ponytail with a few tendrils that help frame her face.

Toya squirmed as he hugged his sister. "Man… five years sure made my little Lottie a pretty little thing…" Toya suddenly twitched. "Don't let any other guy see your smiling face… they will get the wrong idea!"

Clara looked at her brother like he was mad. "What are you talking about?"

Ren shook his head. "Don't worry about it, just eat your breakfast that I prepared." Ren started to eat away at his pancakes, "But yeah, don't show that smile to anyone."

Clara smiled gently at her brothers with an arched eyebrow still not getting what they were going on about, the brothers sighed as they didn't get through to her. The three sat together smiling and chatting. The siblings mostly talked about Clara and her first few months in school but she left out the bet she made with Murasakibara, she knew they would throw a fit especially Toya. They also talked about Ren and the photo shoot he had yesterday. Clara winced when Ren explained that when a hotshot high school student working as a model didn't show up yesterday the female model started to cry and whine like a child, saying she wasn't going to work on her single shots if this guy didn't show up, so Ren told the girl choice words which resulted in a complete breakdown of tears which led to the girl getting fired. The girl must not have realized that her brother was well known that he can fire any one he wanted and no one would bat an eye.

"I am surprised you didn't fire the male model, I mean he didn't show up to the shoot right?" Toya said as he popped a bacon strip in his mouth.

"I worked with the guy before and he is good enough that his session will only take an hour at best and he seemed desperate to have yesterday off, something about a basketball tournament around here, you might have played against him Clara." Ren said as he popped another piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Wow… what is his name?" Toya said as he picked up his dirty dish along with any dish that was empty.

"Kise Ryōta." Toya and Ren jumped when Clara started to cough on her food, she took a huge gulp to help swallow her food.

"Jeez Clara, slow down, there is plenty of food left." Toya said while patting Clara's back.

"Sorry." Clara took another swig of her drink, she was wondering if she should mention that she met his male model but she decided against it when she remembered how much they freaked out after she told them about her playing in a basketball tournament and about her knee injury from earlier that day. So in the end she kept it to herself.

Clara looked over to the clock and got up from her chair in haste.

"Oh no! I am gonna be late!" Clara shouted as she ran out of the kitchen. "Thanks for breakfast you guys! Sorry that I have to eat and run but I am helping my class on decided what to do for our festival."

The brothers peaked around the kitchen doorframe looking at Clara as she made her exit, waving at her retreating form.

"Make sure to lock the door if you leave!" Clara shouted. "There is a spare key in the cabinet above the fridge use that while you are here!"

The brothers shouted their understanding.

As Clara left she had a bright smile on her face as she jogged towards school, she than laughed out loud.

"Today is going to be a good day!"

~!~

Murasakibara awoke with a foul mood as he stared at his phone. Clara said she would text him back that night and she has yet to do so.

"Cookie… you seriously want me to crush you?"

After that Murasakibara went ahead and got ready for the day.

~!~

Here is the newly written Chapter 11 and I must say, I am soooo please how this came out. The reason why Toya was made at Clara makes so much more sense now than before and I feel like I got Ren's personality down a lot better than I did before.

As you can see Murasakibara actually hasn't confessed his affection for Clara, I have always liked relationships the develop over time instead of right off the bat, so please be patient, it's coming soon... maybe... haha

Thank you so much for your patience you guys! I hope you enjoy this new chapter and look forward to the new chapter 12 when it comes out! See you guys in the next chapter!

Love

Bunni!


	12. Chapter 12

The early morning mist slightly wets Clara's blonde hair as she jogged her way to school. Her panted breaths came out in puffs of steam, but even though it was a slightly chilly morning for late spring, Clara still felt beads of sweat run down the back of her neck. As Clara made her way past the opened gates to her education torture chamber she noticed the doors to the gymnasium were opened. The blond paused in her step, biting her lip as she looked around to see if there were any witnesses. Seeing that no one was around, Clara suddenly veered towards the opened facility.

Clara peeked in. The gymnasium is dark, saved for a few energy saving lights flickering here and there. Clara scanned the area and gasped with happiness when she saw the volleyball net was still up from this past weekend's game. Clara than something white and rough caught her eye and it was at that point Clara could barely contain her excitement when she spotted a volleyball laying a few feet away from the bleachers. It must been forgotten from the staff. Clara looked around outside before jogging up to the sports ball. The gym lights flickered on from Clara's movements. When Clara picked up the ball the soft feel of the white leather made Clara shuddered in memory. Clara tossed the ball in the air a few times, her body remembering the sweet sensation. As she once again tossed the ball into the air, Clara spread her legs apart to go into a stance; she cupped her hands together, revealing her wrists. Waiting patiently for the ball to fall back down.

The volleyball made a soft contact with Clara's wrists bouncing the ball back up in the air and continued to do so, only the small smack of flesh and leather could be heard in the dimly lit area. Clara couldn't help the smile on her face as she started to dribble the volleyball. She bent her knees and straighten them back out slightly, moving along with the falling ball. She kept the ball steady in motion, not once did it veer off it's course. Clara smirked when she started to skillfully hit the ball with her individual wrists. The blonde couldn't help the bright smile on her face as she walks towards the front of the net, still lightly hitting the ball with her wrist. Once in position Clara hits the ball with the tips of her fingers, setting the ball into motion to be spiked. Clara's eyes seemed to narrow as she watched the ball fly high into the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion just as the ball reached its peak. Clara's eyes flinched just before she made a powerful jump towards the descending ball.

Clara round her arm back, her hand flat as a board, and her fingers tight together. At the right moment Clara brought down her hand with a tremendous force, flesh meets leather in a sickening smack. The sound reverberated through out the gym. The ball zipped to the ground in lightening speed. The ball appeared to be out of bounds but to the trained eye of an official the ball would have been considered in and would be a point for Clara and her team.

Clara sighed as she straightens out from her spike; she rolled her shoulder with a satisfying smile on her face. However her smile was short lived when the blonde jumped in fright when the sound of clapping could be heard behind her. Clara spun around on her heel, her face flushing as she saw Atsushi Murasakibara and Tatsuya Himuro sitting on the bleachers, Tatsuya with a smile and Murasakibara with an 'O' like expression.

"That was impressive Inari." Tatsuya said as he and Murasakibara slowly got up from the bleachers to make their way over to the shaking girl.

Clara still didn't move with her face still beat red, it wasn't because she was embarrassed but because she felt pride that someone was able to see her ability if only for a second. Her face twisted in a satisfying grin.

Clara chuckled lightly, "Thank you."

"You have a creepy looking smile on your face, Cookie..." Murasakibara said as he leaned over slightly to get a better look.

"That's rude to say so early in the morning!" Clara pouted, jumping back away from the giant but it seemed her comment was ignored when the bell for school rung loud and clear.

"Let's go Cookie… we have to get ready…" Murasakibara sounded annoyed and Clara knew exactly why.

About a week ago it was announced that their school was going to have a school festival. That entailed that each class was going to do a kind of activity to help earn money for their class, which in turn could earn them a trip or a special lunch or whatever they would vote on as a whole. Some classes decided to do restaurants or cafés while others did plays or skits. One class was going to do a talent show. Clara's class has voted on doing a play, Sleeping Beauty.

And to be fair to everyone the class president decided that it was only fair if everyone drew their part from a box. It came to this decision when every girl wanted to be the princess and every guy wanted to be the prince, well, except for those who could care less, like Murasakibara and Tatsuya. Clara on the other hand was just as excited as any other girl but she was more excited just to be apart of a play, which she hasn't done since elementary school. When it was Tatsuya's turn to draw, every girl in the class was watching with bated breath, hoping the handsome teen would get the roll of the prince. Alas it was not meant to be as he drew the part of the crony of the Evil Fairy. And so it went on as each student drew his or her part. Finally a girl with black hair with a pretty face drew the part of Beauty, which caused some girls to pout.

Murasakibara reached in the box but couldn't quite pull the slip of paper out, as his hand was too large for the gap in the box. Clara and Tatsuya couldn't help the laughter in their chests as Murasakibara had a box for a hand; it took the president and another student to help pry the box away. Safe to say the hole in the box was now big enough for the giant to finally take a slip. The part Murasakibara received was the Evil Fairy. Tatsuya made a joke how the two were sticking together on and off the basketball court; sadly, he received no words. Just a giant with a mouth full of pocky, Clara had to pat Tatsuya's back to comfort him. There were only a few parts left and Clara was shocked when she received the part for the prince.

After everyone had their parts, everyone practiced hard on their lines during that week, even Murasakibara was getting into his role. But that maybe because Tatsuya told Murasakibara that if he did a good job Clara would probably make something extra yummy, of course Clara has no idea this was going on but Tatsuya knew that she would make something to celebrate after the play was over.

So now back to the present, Clara has found her self getting dressed in her prince outfit, her long hair was styled in a cool and suave fashion that even made some of the girls swoon.

"I wish you really were a guy right now, Inari…" One girl said as she cupped her own cheeks with a dreamy look on her face.

Clara nearly tripped forward as she turned and watched others agree, Clara waved her hands as she tried to calm down the situation but it seemed to add fuel to the fire as her voice was still low from the dress rehearsal that morning.

The president clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention and to help stop the fan-girl squealing.

"Alright! We are going to be going on in an three hours!" The president pointed at Clara, a boy with shaggy brown hair and another girl with glasses. "Inari, Taki, Mogami; did you three get the baked goods done and ready to go?"

Clara stood in between the two other students; all three gave the thumbs up.

"Good, get the booth ready." The class president turned to the towering giant who is wearing an impressive dark cloak with a hood and a stylized headdress. "Nice idea, Murasakibara! It didn't come to mind to create treats for the audience, now we can get a little extra money!"

The president looked pleasantly surprised at the giant's proposal but unbeknownst to anyone Murasakibara was pissed. What really happened was the class president overhearing Murasakibara talking to Clara about how she should make snacks for him but somehow the president took it another way. Murasakibara ran a hand through his hair and growled. How do you get "sharing" from "just for me"?! Murasakibara sighed as he continued to lay down on the ground eating away at his pocky while Tatsuya was yelling at him to help clean up the gymnasium stage.

As the boys cleaned, Clara was out preparing the stand for the bake sales, several girls from her class came over, handing Clara some signs they have made.

"Wow, these are really good, thanks for making them!" Clara said cheerfully as she began to hang them on and by the stand, however the girls who made the signs didn't leave just yet, they looked like they had something to say.

"Uh, Inari?"

"Yeah?" Clara's voice strained when she tried to reach up to hang one of the signs on a nail.

"Have you and Makoto decided what you are going to do with the kissing scene?"

Clara laughed as she clapped her hands together after getting the sign up. "Yeah, we decided on to just for me to kiss on the cheek but to the audience it will look like I am kissing her on the lips."

It turned out there was a small kissing scene between the leading roles that the class president ' _forgot'_ to mention but it mattered not to Clara, she was used to kissing people on the cheek and vise versa as her brothers and mother were a little more open when she was growing up, but that is because when her mother and brothers lived in the states they grew accustomed to the culture.

"That's good, you wouldn't want your first kiss to be taken during a play."

"I know I wouldn't and it's with a girl so you don't have to worry about a guy being gross about the kiss." Clara laughs nervously as she nodded in agreement, the three of them continued to talk among themselves but Clara could only drown them out when she remembered her first kiss was stolen from her brother back when she was in elementary school when she attempted to kiss another boy.

Clara would take that secret to her grave.

"Can't wait for the play! Break a leg!" The girls chimed together as they left.

However, unknown to Clara and the others, things were going to get a little… interesting...

~!~

Toya sighed as he waited in a room at a rehabilitation center. Around the time he left he underwent surgery on his leg in hopes to regain his position back to the NFL but the healing and the rehab process was taking longer than expected but Toya wasn't going to give up now that there was a chance he could go back to playing his favorite sport.

Toya picked up a magazine that caught his eyes. It was about basketball, a sport he didn't really care for, liked to watch but not to play. He flipped through the pages with hardly any interest until he stopped and noticed a figure that looked familiar. Toya turned back to the beginning of the article and saw it was about the 'Generation of Miracles'. Toya didn't have time to scoff at the stupid name when he saw the group shot. Three of the guys that were in the photo where the ones who were with Clara the evening they made up.

' _How the hell did Clara get to know these three? She plays volleyball for Christ's sake._ ' Toya thought to himself as he started to read. It appeared to be a time skip kind of article. It first talked about the five and their time at Teikō, than it went on about where each individual player went to for high school and that school's statistics for sport and than it transitioned into the Spring Tournament than to the Winter Cup game.

' _Among the five there stands a sixth man…_ ' Toya read to himself and saw a picture of a boy with light blue hair and matching eyes. ' _Why does he look familiar…?_ ' Toya has seemed to forget that Tetsuya Kuroko was actually at Clara's apartment as well. Toya shrugged when the face didn't register. "Oh well…"

~!~

Kuroko sneezed as he and Kagami were riding the train along with everyone else that was apart of the weekend tournament.

"You getting a cold?" Kagami moved his headphones to the side to hear Kuroko shake his head.

"No, someone must be talking about me…"

~!~

"Mr. Inari?" A nurse's announcement snapped Toya out of his frustration as he continued to wonder how Clara was mixed up with those people. Toya got up from his spot while snatching up his duffle bag. He weaved in and round the hallways of the center before entering in a room with several machines and even a small tub filled with water.

"Thank you." Toya said gently to the nurse who bowed before leaving.

In the middle of the room stood a man in his mid to late thirties, he was looking over a packet of documents on a clipboard. The man turned towards the younger and smiled slightly.

"Toya Inari?"

Toya nodded. "Yes sir."

"Nice to meet you, I am Kagetora Aida, but please call me Tora…" Toya bowed towards the older man.

"Thank you for helping me in my recovery."

"You say that now but I am warning you, I will not go easy." Kagetora's kind words before now seemed to have a bite to them as he dropped the clipboard to the table with a loud smack. "I didn't travel by plane to see you half assed this."

Toya's eyes hardened as he straightens his posture. "I wouldn't have hired you if I was going to half ass anything."

Kagetora smirked. "Than let's get to work Rapunzel."

Toya gaped, sure he had long hair but did this guy really had to call him that? Toya snapped out of his shock when another voice filled the room.

"Dad, I brought the equipment you needed." A girl around the age of 17 or 18 stepped through the door with several pieces of large equipment on a push dolly.

Toya watched as the girl made her way over to her father, she picked up the clipboard with Toya's information on it and began to skim through it. Toya flinched.

"Hey should you really go through that?" Toya said as he made his way over.

"Don't worry, she is helping me today, this is my daughter Riko Aida." Kagetora said as he examined the equipment. "Ahh! Riko-tan!" Suddenly Kagetora whipped and hugged his daughter tightly. "You brought everything papa has asked for!"

Riko blushed heavily and punched her father in the nose to get him to back off. "PLEASE stop doing that! And stop calling me Riko-tan!" Riko panted out hot breaths but composed herself when Toya watched the small fight. "Sorry about that… now from what I see here. You suffered from a torn ACL in your right knee, you already went through your surgery and are now in the recovery stage... wow the surgery went that well huh?" Riko covered her mouth as she continued to read the file documents, "Are you walking without any kind of discomfort?"

Toya nodded as he watched Kagetora starting to recover from the hit he received from his daughter.

"I am close friends with someone who recently joined the NFL and he pointed me towards the best doctors…" Toya said gently as he looked down at Riko.

"Alright, now than… strip down to your underwear." Riko demanded as she continued to look over the notes and documents.

Most people would be shocked to hear a demand like this but so many people have seen Toya bare buck naked to the point that he didn't care about being shy anymore. The long hair man strips his clothes off until he was in his boxers.

Riko and Kagetora both stared hard at Toya, examining him. Kagetora even went up and lifted Toya's arms and spread his legs apart more. Toya flinched slightly from Riko's hands on his sides.

"Ah, sorry." Riko said gently.

"It's okay, just a little ticklish there…" Toya said with a chuckle.

"Have you been doing some training before now?" Riko asked as she and her father were both writing notes down but it looked more like Riko was in charge of his appointment than her father was but some reason Toya didn't question this.

"Yeah, I have been doing stretches every morning, noon and night to keep the blood flowing. I at least walk an hour or two with some light jogging…." Toya listed off several ways he has kept his knee active at a reasonable pace.

"Good… it seems another two weeks and you will probably can start really training again for the NFL, which by the way congratulations." Riko smiles warmly. Toya suddenly felt a blush creeping up.

"Thank you…"

Kagetora arched his eyebrow in annoyance. "Okay Riko-tan… I can take it from here… you have someplace to be now right?"

At her father's voice Riko took a look at her wristwatch and nodded. "Yeah, I am meeting the guys at Yōsen soon…"

Toya blinked. "Eh? You go to Yōsen High?" Toya asked curiously.

Riko shook her head. "Oh no, I go to a school near Tokyo, my team did a small tournament yesterday and we have today and tomorrow off from school and a friend of ours has a school festival going on."

Toya nodded as Riko explained and chuckled.. "Well, you are in luck. My sister goes to Yōsen High and if you don't mind Mr. Aido, I can take Miss Aido."

Toya noticed a blood vessel popping in the man's neck. "No… she can get a ride from me…" Kagetora said as he walked menacingly towards the two. Riko sighed.

"Dad you have more patients after Inari here, it won't hurt if we are going to the same place and I am sure he isn't going to risk anymore bodily harm." Riko motioned for Toya to get back into his clothes after Kagetora finally agreed.

"Fine… Inari we start up the day after tomorrow, make sure you warm up and stretch before you arrive." Kagetora said with crossed arms.

Toya nodded as he and Riko both said their goodbyes.

The two left the rehab building a slight hurry, either to get away from Riko's father or just the excitement of going to a school festival only those two would know. As they made their way through the parking lot, Toya looked towards Riko as she adjusted her shoulder bag.

"I have heard your father is amazing but I didn't know his daughter was equally amazing, how long have you been studying as a trainer?" Riko laughed as she waved her hand about, blushing like a little school girl.

"My father would bring me along with him after school but after time I decided to come over with him because I found it really fun to see people grow into amazing players." Riko's eyes seemed to sparkle as she described her experiences, which captivated Toya. Riko sighed as she placed her hand on her cheek with a dreamy look on her face. "Nothing gets the blood pumping than bringing out someone's true potential."

Toya's eyes widen as he looked away, 'Whoa! Calm down… she is nearly a decade younger than me… she is Lottie's age!" But Toya couldn't stop his heart from beating so fast or stop the blush on his cheeks as the two continued to talk about small things.

Once in the car and on their way, Toya's stomach started to growl, making the early 20's man blush heavily. Riko chuckled lightly at the grumbling noise.

Toya laughed lightly along with her. "Sorry, I had breakfast but I guess it wasn't enough." Toya stopped at a red light and began quickly looking around in his car but the box that usually held some kind of fitness snack was empty much to his disappointment.

Seeing that he didn't have anything to eat, Riko turned and reached in her bag and pulled out a container. Toya noticed that she seemed hesitant when she did so and with a low voice she held it out. "Here, I have made some snacks for my friends that I am planning on meeting up at Yōsen, you can have some if you want." She began to mumble something. Something about idiot team and a guy named Hyūga?

Toya shook his head with a smile, "Thank you, what is it?" Toya looked into the container and saw some misshapen rice balls and rice crackers, at least he thought they were rice crackers. But the growling in his stomach was too much for him to care about presentation.

Toya reached over and picked up a few crackers and a rice ball.

"Thank you for the meal!" He began to munch on the crackers as the light turned green. Riko was staring at him intently, like she was waiting for something to happen. Toya turned his head and they made eye contact.

"Not gonna lie, making me a little nervous when you are staring at me like that." Toya chuckled lightly as he stuffed another rice cracker in his mouth.

"How… are they?" Riko seemed to ignore Toya as she quickly asked her question.

Toya swallowed his bite. "They're pretty good." He said just as he took another bite.

"You don't feel… sick or… queasy?" She asked slowly making Toya a little nervous.

"Did you poison them, or something?" Toya said with a teasing yet nervous voice.

Riko blushed. "No of course not… I am just not the greatest chief in the world, so I am told." Riko pouted slightly as she looked out the window; suddenly she saw in the window's reflection that Toya looked almost pale. "Ah! What is it?" She whipped her head back to him, ready to take the wheel if he passes out but instead Toya reached for his water bottle and chugged some water down.

Toya gasped out after the gulp. "Sorry, a bit of rice went down the wrong tube." He laughed as he continued to eat the food without fail until everything in Riko's container was completely gone, "Sorry, I seemed to have eaten everything... and they were for your friends too..." Toya looked regretful but Riko shook her head to say that it was fine.

When another five minutes went by and nothing happened Riko looked surprised, amazed and overall happy. "Wow… you… didn't get sick or pass out or anything!"

Toya blinked. "Why would I?"

"The guys on my team don't like some of the ingredients I put into my cooking." Riko said blushing with a laugh.

"Oh? What did you put in? Some kind of fish oil or something?" Toya asked as he licked his fingers to clean them from any left over food that lingered.

"No… I usually put in protein powder or other edible supplements…" She mumbled but she turned to him in confusion when Toya began to laugh. Riko became more confused as she watched Toya coughing from laughing so hard.

"Sorry…" Toya finally calmed down, coughing out one more laugh. "I didn't mean to laugh, your food is pretty good, not as good as my sister's of course." Toya gushed as he thought of his little baby sister. "But it's good, I am surprised that your team doesn't like them and I don't see the big deal, I put supplements and protein powder in my food and drink all the time."

Riko smiled brightly as she finally found someone who actually enjoyed her bizarre looking.

~!~

Kagami and Kuroko stood in front of the gates of Yōsen High. The school is massive, aged and classy. Some of the students themselves looked like they were a part of the high elite, dressed up in their perm pressed uniforms. But today was different because the students were smiling brightly while shouting out what their festival stands could offer their guests. A number of classes were selling different kinds of dishes that could be found around the globe, Middle Eastern, European, African and American. For those who wanted to stick with traditional Japanese dishes they had to creatively figure out ways to reinvent the food; one stand sold fruit sushi, which became very popular among the masses. However, it wasn't just food but also arts and crafts. Art students made stands for face painting and for temporary tattoos.

Either way, everyone was having an amazing time!

"Hmmm... So this is Yōsen…" Imayoshi stated as his eyes widen ever so slightly from their squint position. The voice made both Kagami and Kuroko turn around to watch the rest of the group join the duo. Imayoshi, Midorima, Takao, Aomine, Hyūga, Wakamatsu and Izuki all lined up staring up at the school. Wakamatsu had a look of wonderment on his face along with Hyūga and Izuki and the three actually went off on their own to explore the new world they stumbled upon, leaving the others behind in the dust. The two ex-Teikō students, Aomine and Midorima, looked like they could care less.

"Hey! Everyone!" The remaining group looked over to see Tatsuya running over with his hand in the air, waving. However, unlike the other student garb, Tatsuya wore a dark cloak with a hood.

"Tatsuya!" Kagami called back with a laugh as he went to meet his childhood friend. "What are you dressed up as? You doing a haunted house?"

Tatsuya laughed back as he shook his head when he slowed to a stop. "No, our class is doing a play this time, we were just finishing up with preparations and dress rehearsals." Tatsuya looked at everyone and noticed that they were missing a few. "Huh? Where are the others?"

Kuroko piped up behind Kagami, causing both red and dark head to jump in surprise. "Akashi and his team went off to do some research for school, while Kise had a photo shoot, Kasamatsu and Hayakawa went with him, they said they would join up with us later in the evening."

Tatsuya composed himself as he listened to Kuroko's explaination, after the light blue hair boy was finished, Tatsuya gestured to the stalls. "Well, the play doesn't start for another hour so take your time and wonder about, we have plenty of stalls with food and drinks!" Tatsuya suddenly remembered something. "Oh and also Inara has ma…Mmffgphh…"

Everyone was shocked to see the towering purple giant, Murasakibara, cover his teammates mouth with his giant hand, he even had fake nails on to give them a sharper and deadly look. Not only that but Murasakibara was also in a dark clock but this was more detailed from the stitching to the jagged horns that lay a top his head. The giant got stares from those around either from wonderment to just mild giggling but it didn't seem to bother the giant one bit as he stared down at a angered pretty boy.

"Muro-chin, it's time to go back." Usually, Murasakibara's voice had a ring of boredom but this time he sounded... desperate, like he stopped Tatsuya from saying an embaressing secret. He even ignored Tatsuya's protests as he dragged him away without so much as a 'how you do' to the others.

Despite this the others began to follow the Yōsen students, especially Midorima and Aomine, probably because Tatsuya announced something involving Clara Inari which seemed to peak their interests even though they would never admit it. However, the group didn't get three feet when Murasakibara craned his head back to glare at the group, a violet aura seeping out of his body.

"Didn't you hear… the play doesn't start for another hour..." The giant's voice was low and intimidating that even gave his old teammates pause but only for a second.

Aomine recovered first as he pointed at Murasakibara with an annoyed look as he came to the realization on why Murasakibara was acting all possessive. "The only reason why you're this jumpy is because that girl made snacks!" Aomine got confirmation when Murasakibara stopped dead in his tracks. "I was right! You can't..."

"Tetsu! Dai-chan!"

Aomine's rant was cut short when he and Kuroko both heard their names being called from the sound of a sweet, bubbly and down right feminine voice. Momoi Satsuki came running towards the group while carrying a side shoulder bag, her pink hair swung back and forth from the messy pony tail that she wore and as she got closer her smile seemed to brighten up more. When she got close enough to Kuroko, she leapt off the ground to jump in his arms.

"Momoi…" Kuroko said gently just as the pink hair teenager landed in his arms for a tight hug. "...that hurts."

Momoi giggled as she nuzzled her cheek against Kuroko's cheek but when she looked up at her childhood friend, Aomine, she made a stern pout, making her look pretty damn adorable to the point that the boys surrounding her blushed, well all except for the Aomine, Midorima and Kuroko.

"Dai-chan! You promised that I could come along with you and Tetsu! But you guys left me behind! For that you are paying for lunch!" Even though Momoi was all smiles she held a tone that shouldn't be trifled with but Aomine growled as he stared down at the pink hair girl.

"I made no such promise! Besides you took forever… OI!" Aomine gapped when Momoi ignored his ranting and walked off with Kuroko, in annoyance Aomine followed after his childhood friend and ex-teammate before they got lost in the crowds, even Kagami turned to follow after the three.

"I will see you later Tatsuya! Break a leg!" Kagami shouted with a huge toothy grin as he ran to catch up with Kuroko and the others.

The remaining group watched in amusement at how much Momoi had Aomine wrapped around her finger... well half of her finger but Murasakibara could only feel relief when he watched the four leave the group behind yet he turned his attention back to the others trying to figure out a way to get rid of them but all he could come up with was them to follow the others that just left.

Murasakibara snapped out of his brain storming when he heard Kazunari Takao snickering away, the giggling act made the amethyst giant turn his glare on both Shūtoku students, like his glare would somehow make the duo leave, however the glare wasn't as effective as before. Murasakibara felt his eyebrow twitch when Midorima readjusted his glasses, his emerald eyes narrowed in his very own glare. The staring contest made Takao bite back his laughter even thought it was proving to be difficult.

"Mido-chin… why don't you go as well…" Murasakibara broke the silence as he continued to stare down at the green hair teen.

"You don't tell me what to do Murasakibara… " Takao didn't bother to hide his laughing anymore as he and Midorima went past the agitated giant to head straight for the gym. The two were greeted by students who gestured them to a haunted house that was built off to the side, Takao somehow dragged his friend towards it much to Midorima's protests.

Murasakibara sighed as she finally let's Tatsuya go.

"Man Atsushi… you do realize that Inari wasn't the only one who made treats right?" Tatsuya said rubbing the sore spot around his mouth were the giant smacked his hand over.

"Whatever…" Murasakibara mumbled as he dragged his feet towards the backstage. Murasakibara didn't feel like explaining why he wanted to keep Clara's treats to himself.

Murasakibara sat down on the stage nibbling on the remaining sticks of pocky. Everything was set and ready to go in a half hour. People even started to trickle in to take a spot in the audience. Murasakibara growled when he noticed that a few people had Clara's treats in hand, treats that rightfully belonged to him. The giant sighed as he got up from his spot to head to the back of the stage.

As Murasakibara made his way to the back he saw that Clara was getting into her prince outfit, while another classmate doing her hair. Even Murasakibara had to admit that Clara looked good in her outfit. The violet teen felt his heart pumping a lot faster than usual; he clutched his clothing that covered his heart like doing that would stop the beating.

"Atsushi! Time to get into position!"

Murasakibara could barely make out Tatsuya's voice as the lights over head started to dim to single the show was about to begin.

"Whoa! We almost have a full house." One girl said excitedly.

Clara looked out besides the girl. The girl was right; the gym was filling up by the second. Clara gasped to herself. The blonde was able to see the green tuff of hair that belonged to Midorima and right next to him was a bored looking Takao as he read through the pamphlet. Something must have caught his eye because his eyes snapped open as he shoved the paper leaflet into Midorima's face. Takao was saying something excitedly while Midorima had to shove the paper out of his face.

Soon Clara noticed Kagami and Kuroko sitting down by Takao and sure enough came Aomine and a girl that Clara hasn't seen before, she sat between Kuroko and Aomine with a bright smile on her face. Clara couldn't help the small blush that tinged her cheeks.

' _Whoa she is pretty… her hair looks shiny and smooth, I wonder who she is…?_ ' Clara thought to herself as she continued to watch.

However, her attention went to the President as he began to clap his hands. "Alright you brats! We practiced hard for this, let's do such an amazing job that they will be throwing money at us!"

Clara mumbled. "You are a greedy person, huh President?"

"What!?" The President blushed at Clara's comment he coughed as he turned. "I just want to make sure we can get enough money to go somewhere fun on our vacation time… Or am I the only want who wants to go to the beach… or to a theme park?"

That got everyone motivated. Clara began to imagine going to the beach, she hadn't gone to the ocean in several years and she loved to swim and besides that…

"Ahhh! I wanna play beach volleyball!" Clara hugged herself to contain her excitement. "The sand between your toes… the beating sun down your neck…" She squealed as she unsheathed her sword and pointed it towards the crowd in a princely like manner. "Time to go take action and charge my darlings!"

Some of the girls squealed and pumped their fists in the air; even some of the guys got excited.

Tatsuya chuckled at how Clara was able to help the President get everyone pumped up even if it was a selfish wish to herself.

The gymnasium lights finally went out, while a single stage light remained on. One of the female classmates walked inside the overhead light and began her monologue.

Just like the story, a King and Queen in a far off kingdom longed for a child. The mother said a little prayer to which it came true. A daughter was born at the break of dawn, to which the King and Queen decided to name her, Aurora.

While the girl said her monologue other classmates came out and acted out the scene. Surprisingly everyone was doing a fairly good job. Tatsuya noticed that some children in the first few rows were engaging in a story that they probably have heard several times by now. But it seemed a few of them went to the edge of their seats when Murasakibara arrived on set during the Christening of the baby Aurora.

Murasakibara had his usual bored expression plastered on his face. "Ahhh… I see you have invited the whole kingdom even the… riffraff…" Murasakibara's gaze went to his fellow classmate, who played the good fairy in the story; the student flinched under Murasakibara's gaze.

"You…. You weren't wanted…" The student stumbled his wording but it was a good reaction.

"Haaaa?" Murasakibara's glare became more intense.

Clara stood off to the side watching in admiration as the scene played out. The blond could hardly believe how well Murasakibara was doing. Some of the lines were missing but the point was coming across very nicely. Clara looked out to the audience and saw just how everyone was enjoying the show so far.

Clara had to cover her mouth to stop her laughter from bubbling out of her mouth when she saw how wide Midorima's mouth hung open. From what she has heard those two have known each other for several years so this must be quite the shock to see.

The scene shifted to the king wanting to destroy ever spinning wheel that the kingdom had to keep their daughter safe after the Evil Fairy placed his curse on Princess Aurora. Clara gulped, as it was almost her turn to come on.

The girl who played Aurora came onto the stage with grace. Apparently the girl studied ballet and hoped to be an actor one day, she and Clara would actually stay behind after school to practice lines and Clara couldn't help but be serious in her role when the her classmate was fighting towards her dream. Clara took a deep breath.

Clara watched the movements of her co-star. Clara waited for the cue and there it was the turn to which Clara was supposed to catch her but… it wasn't meant to be.

Just as Clara stepped up behind, Clara tripped over her cape and face planted on the ground. The audience gasped, some chuckled, especially Takao who tried desperately to contain his laughter and if it weren't for the smack from Midorima he would have laughed out loud. However that didn't stop Aomine from making a short chortle.

Clara went to her knees to hold her red face.

"W…who are you?"

Clara looked up at Suzana, the girl who was playing Aurora.

"Are you alright?" Suzana stayed in character and it actually encouraged Clara to do the same.

"Yes… Sorry… I was memorized by your singing voice… and your dance moments were so regal and graceful." Clara said in her low voice, her eyes sparkling. Suzana actually started blushing as she stepped away to hide her face.

Murasakibara felt his eyebrow twitch. Some reason his chest began to tighten as an uneasy feeling came over him. A feeling he never experienced before and a feeling he couldn't quite place. It was the same kind of feeling he got when he saw how close Midorima and Clara were at the basketball tournament. Murasakibara shoved those feelings down, he would figure it out later, right now he was close to getting Clara's snacks he could almost taste them. The giant's hear began to beat fast for a different reason now as he walked on stage just as the scene between the Prince and Princess was over.

Murasakibara was more intimidating than he was in his first scene and Tatsuya wasn't backing down as the lackey and Tatsuya's acting only got Murasakibara riled up even more.

~!~

The play went on splendidly, everyone was getting his or her lines on the dot with a few little improv here and there. Now the scene shifted to inside the castle. Aurora is seen distraught, being told she would never see the prince that she fell in love with in the forest ever again, and just like in the story she pricked her finger on the spinning wheel, causing the curse to be fulfilled.

The children actually clung to each other when Murasakibara made a terrifying laugh. Even Kuroko and the other felt a chill run down their spine.

"Mukkun sure is getting into his role, huh?" Momoi said as she clung to Kuroko's arm, she actually felt scared seeing Murasakibara laugh and act like the way he did.

"I am more surprised that some of the roles that were meant to be played by women are played by men." Kagami muttered as he saw the Queen, who was played by a guy come on stage just as the father of the prince came by to try to tell them that his son fell in love with a girl from common birth but they never had the chance when the Good Fairy put everyone to sleep just like Aurora.

As the play carried on, several guys began to snicker and chitchat behind the group. It was getting annoying because the three wouldn't shut up; even in hush tones they were causing a scene.

Midorima, Aomine and Takao were all about to turn around to tell them to shut up or leave but were stopped when the next few words came out of their mouths.

"Jeez Sugawara is harsh man, getting Sachi to sneak on stage to steal a kiss just to get on the baseball team."

"Hey, not my fault he agreed." This Sugawara said with a snicker. "I think he is even going to try to cup a feel!"

That statement was the last straw, Takao was the first to react he spun in his chair and clutched one of the three's collar. "You ass-wipes…" Takao in a harsh yet whispered tone started laying down choice words to the three but that wasn't going to stop the impending harassment; the ending scene continued on.

Clara, in prince form, was 'climbing' the tower steps and there lying on a fake bed was the Princess Aurora, if the guys didn't just hear about this upcoming prank they wouldn't have noticed that it was a guy lying down, even the wig was the right color tone!

Midorima and Aomine staggered as they both watched Clara saying her lines and getting closer and closer to the bed before kneeling beside it.

"Princess… I have fallen in love with since I laid my eyes on you… please… wake up…" Clara whimpered out her lines as she started to lean down to kiss the 'princess's' cheek no realizing the horrible smirk that laid on the lips of the imposter.

"Her... first... kiss?" Both Aomine and Midorima thought to out loud with the color from their face draining. The thought of Clara's pure lips going to someone else for a stupid prank was unbearable!

"That's what you guys are more concerned about!?" Takao said in a sharp voice.

The two didn't seem to hear as Aomine started to run towards the stage at his top speed while Midorima snatched his red bean soup can and lets it fly as if it was a basketball. It seemed like time was going in slow motion. The drinking can flew high into the air than slowly started to descend at remarkable precision. At that moment Aomine is getting close enough to make a leap to get on the stage. All the while, Clara's lips were ever getting closer and closer.

Were they going to make it?

~!~

Oh my god! This was fun to write! YAY! We got to see Clara in Volleyball mode for a moment! Hurrah!

I am so happy that I decided to re-write these past two chapters! In my opinion they're so much better than what I was writing before! Anyways! I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! I was so excited to have you guys read this that there might be several grammar mistakes but I will be going back to fix them later on.

Anyways! Are you surprised that Toya is developing a crush on Riko? Wait until he sees what Momoi can do hah! And you may have noticed that I have switched to Sleeping Beauty instead of Beauty and the Beast, I think I was able to write a little more differently because of it!

Anyways, again… tell me what you think in your reviews! Like and follow! I love you guys! See you in chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13

A wooden bench, behind the stage, creaked as Murasakibara sat down to rest. He wipes away the sweat that dripped down the back of his neck. The giant realized he only sweat this much when he played basketball; who knew that staging lighting was so intense. He sighed as he took a swig of a near by water.

Murasakibara went back to his time on stage with Clara. They only had a few scenes together and he would never admit it but he actually had a little bit of fun. And seeing Clara dressed up like a prince wasn't so bad either, in fact she looked very dashing. Murasakibara's violet eyes watched Clara's every step as she made her way "up" the hand made staircase that would lead her to the Sleeping Beauty's tower. The lighting made her green eyes pop more, giving her a serious yet gentle look.

"The kissing scene is coming up…" Murasakibara sighed, whispering to himself. The giant felt a slight pinch in his chest and it only seemed to grow in intensity, as Clara got closer. For some reason something didn't feel right.

There was a rustle at the side and Murasakibara noticed that Aomine is using his god like speed to rush the stage. Murasakibara stood up on instinct and opened the door quickly however Aomine made a beeline towards the stage, however Murasakibara took hold of the darker teen. Murasakibara knew how hard Clara looked on this project and he wasn't going to let Aomine ruin that.

" _Aomine, what do you think you are doing?_ " Tatsuya whispered as he came over just as Aomine ripped his arm away from Murasakibara who had an intense look in his eye.

" _Inari is going to be punked by that fake ass princess!_ " Aomine hissed out a whisper.

Murasakibara looked confused. " _What are you talking about Mine-chin?_ " Murasakibara's voice seemed to darken.

" _That asswipe is going…!_ " Aomine's voice seemed to grow distant as Murasakibara listened to the harassment that was about to unfold in front of them.

Murasakibara's world seemed to freeze as he looked out towards the stage. Clara is just about to make contact for the kiss, his mind wondered to the possible future; the thought of Clara crying rivers of tears after being harassed and humiliated made the giant's blood boil. The giant knew how hard Clara worked on this play and he wasn't going to let some attention seeking adolescent asshole ruin it.

Murasakibara glared at Aomine, making the darker skin teen freeze in place. " _Stay…_ "

Murasakibara grabs hold of Tatsuya's arm and pulled him towards the stage. The two teenagers just made it in time by hooking their arms underneath Clara's armpits and pulled her away just as the red bean can beamed the fake princess on the forehead.

~!~

The dark gymnasium was so quite that you could hear a spider crawl across the floor. Several students started to whisper as other stared in confusion at the scene in front of them. Two teens had their arms hooked underneath the prince's own arms, making her dangle a foot or so off the ground. Compared to the little in their grasps she looked like a child. Their attention also went to the one teen that was hissing pain from having something clonk him on the forehead.

Clara blinked as she stared at her dangling feet, she even swayed slightly just to make sure what was happening was actually happening. The blonde looked to her side to see two pairs of eyes on her, one grey-black the other violet. Groans of pain claimed Clara's attention, shifting her eyes to a boy who was rubbing his forehead vigorously, a large bump slowly forming.

"What… just happened? Where is Suzana?" Clara said softly as her thoughts kept reeling, trying to make sense of everything, that is, until she felt warmth near her cheek. Clara came back to reality from her chaotic thoughts to having Tatsuya leaning slightly in.

"Our lord has captured you again, Prince…" Tatsuya had a devious looking grin on his face as he stared at Clara.

Clara felt warm on her cheeks at Tatsuya's intense look. "Wha…are…" Clara leaned her head backwards from Tatsuya.

However… Clara jumped in their grasps when she felt a chin rest on her shoulder, making her green eyes come face to face with dashing violet eyes.

"Mura…."

"I will make sure you won't escape… this time…" Murasakibara's voice was low and husky. The red in Clara's cheeks spread throughout her body, making her looked like a cooked lobster. Her body started to shake violently.

Some girls in the audience were squealing and blushing, several were taking photos with their phones.

"It's like a boy love comic…" A girl leaned against her friend in a fake fainting action.

"Oh my gosh! Tatsuya and Murasakibara look so hot right now!" Another girl squealed.

"I wish I could be in the Prince's shoes right now!" Even more girls swooned at Clara's confused predicament.

Shinji was completely ignored to the point that no one noticed that he was dragged away from the stage by a pissed off Toya who just arrived to hear about the 'plot' that nearly took Clara's first kiss from Takao and Midorima. Even the squeals of the female students drowned out the boy's shrill scream.

Just as Murasakibara and Tatsuya were about to drag Clara away, Suzana appeared, finally escaping her closet prison, she held a 'sword' and pointed daringly at the two men who held the prince captive.

"Unhand him! Or face my fury!" Suzana shouted, again the audience ruptured into gasps and squeals. It intensified when Suzana charged, to which Tatsuya and Murasakibara let Clara go and engaged in battle only to be beaten by the princess.

Clara was still dumbstruck from all that was going on that she just kneeled there, looking like a deer in the headlights. Suzana came over and held out her hand with a sweet smile and whispered.

"Play along… I'll explain when it's over…"

Clara looked up at Suzana and nodded slightly without hesitation. "Princess! You have saved me yet again…"

Suzana looked confused, "What do you mean, I only saved you once…"

Clara shook her head as she twirled Suzana into her arms. "You saved me twice… from the evil fairy… and saving me from trying to find you…"

The audience chuckled at the bad joke as the curtain fell, the audience ruptured into a thunderous applause. Everyone came out to do a final bow, ending the play on an interesting high note.

~!~

It took almost two hours for Clara's class to clean up the gymnasium of all the trash, props and whatever was left over from the production. Because of the stage lights and constant moving about, everyone was sweaty and pretty stinky with the permission of some teachers the students were able to take showers in the locker rooms if they so desired. Clara sighed with a smile as she ties her damp hair in a low side braid with a few strands framing her face.

Clara looked ahead and noticed Murasakibara and Tatsuya near the exit. Just as Clara was about to shout out to get their attention Clara stopped when a female student went over to Murasakibara and handed him a small bag of goodies. The girl seemed to fidget and softly asked.

"Would you… go out with me? I've had feelings for you for several months… please go out with me!"

Clara felt a sharp sting in her chest at the girl's declaration. Clara raised a hand to clasp her shirt over her heart. What was this unfamiliar pain? It burned her chest, made her stomach curl. Clara had to look away, like she couldn't bear to see the look on Murasakibara's face or the girl's for that matter.

"Sorry… but I have to decline…"

Clara quickly looked back up as Murasakibara remained where he stood, staring down at the girl; he even returned the small pouch of goodies. The female student downcast her eyes before running off. The pain in her chest was replaced with a sense of relief and it almost made Clara sick. Clara wanted to jump up and down in happiness but she didn't, she felt horrible, not because the girl was turned down but by the unsavory thoughts Clara had while Murasakibara was giving his answers.

Clara thought she was a good person but when that girl declared her love for the giant, Clara wanted nothing more than to run over there and tell the girl off, to scream and belittle her.

"I am… horrible…" Clara whispered to herself, looking down at her feet.

"Oi cookie?"

Clara snapped her eyes up to meet a pair of lavender eyes staring back down at her. Murasakibara looked a little concern as he cocked his head to the side.

"What is it?"

Clara snapped out of her stupor by shaking her head. "N-nothing! Sorry, was spacing out there…"

Clara chuckled as she turned to reach in her small backpack she pulled out a container. "Here, this is left over goodies from the bake sale."

Murasakibara's eyes lit up like fireworks as he gently look the package like it was a delicate flower.

Clara giggled as she felt those raw emotions leave her body. "Thank you for helping me back on stage before… I don't want to think what would have happened if that guy did those things…"

Murasakibara was already stuffing his face when Clara was speaking nonetheless he stopped gluttonous habit to look down at the blonde and the giant had a gentle expression on his face. "You're welcome…"

Clara blushed a little and smiled gently back as she pointed back towards Tatsuya to regroup but the two gapped slightly when they noticed that female students, from Yōsen and from other schools, surround the dark hair teen. Clara laughed lightly.

"Should we go and save him from the raging teen hormones?" Clara laughed as she looked up at Murasakibara who actually shook his head.

"No… Let's go."

Clara blinked in disbelief. "Huh? What… but…"

"Muro-chin will be fine." Murasakibara said as he heads towards another set of exit doors.

Clara was hesitant as she watched Murasakibara walk off she looked one last time to Tatsuya. Clara finally saw why Murasakibara was reluctant to help, she saw Kagami coming to his childhood friend's rescue by pulling Tatsuya away from the sea of teenage girls. Clara finally turned and jogged after the towering giant.

"So, if we are we not going to join up with the others, what do you wanna do?" Clara asked curiously after she caught up with her classmate.

Murasakibara didn't answer right away, as he was too engrossed in his face stuffing of delicious treats. Clara couldn't help a bit of laughter passing her lips as she watched the giant enjoy his tasty snack.

"You know you are going to get fat if you keep eating like that." Clara giggled in between words.

Murasakibara did a small pout at Clara. "No I won't…" Suddenly Murasakibara shoved a cookie into Clara mouth.

Clara almost choked on her laughter as she bit down on the cookie and it didn't help that she was initially laughing at Murasakibara's childish retort. Murasakibara was adorable when he acted like a child. But Clara also knew he had a sweet and considerate side to him as well; her thoughts went back to when he found her precious necklace and when he was so kind as to stay by her when she injured her knees. In the long run, Clara was grateful that she met the towering giant of Yōsen High.

Clara stole a glance at the lingering giant. Murasakibara must have felt her gaze as he looked down at her. Both stared at each other for a moment longer before they both smiled at each other and it seemed like they moved just a bit little closer to each other. Unbeknownst to Clara, something small and warm planted itself deep in the blonde teen's heart.

"FOUND YOU!"

The two's little tender moment was cut short when Toya came stomping towards them. Behind the older sibling was the rest of the gang. Midorima was yelling at Takao; who was saying something about how Midorima was losing to Murasakibara. Clara jumped when she felt an arm drape behind her shoulders, somehow Aomine snuck up on the other side of Clara and sat down right next to her, snatching a few cookies away causing Murasakibara to grow angry and whipping the treats away from the greedy Tōō student's reach. The close proximity of both teens around Clara made Toya grow more in rage at both basketball prodigies so he attempted to pull them away from his baby sister, however that just gave Aomine and Murasakibara to resist. Clara became trapped.

"Hey! Knock it off, you're going to hurt Inari!" Midorima stomped over to the bench to try to rescue Clara but instead found himself being dragged in the tussle.

Clara to flail her arms about trying to escape from the four boys just as she thought she would never escape she found herself being pulled away from danger and into a tight hug by Reo Mibuchi who was growling at the four of them for torturing the poor soul.

The four bickering boys stopped in the middle of their scuffle to stare up at not only Mibuchi but also the rest of the Rakuzan basketball starters. Akashi has a discontent look in his eyes making Murasakibara, Toya, Midorima, and Aomine flinch; it looked like a father scolding his three sons they disappointed him.

In Mibuchi's grasp, Clara noticed that Nebuya and Kotaro took that moment to escort two girls away from the 'children' who were still frozen in place from Akashi's glare. Like his teammates before him, Mibuchi escorted Clara away from her brother, Murasakibara, Aomine and Midorima. Once at a far enough distance Clara was able to meet both Satsuki Momoi and Riko Aido. Clara noticed that Momoi was the pink hair girl she saw in the gymnasium during the play. However her attention was on the short brown hair girl.

"Wow, it's a amazing for a high school student to be a coach for a high school basketball team. I never really heard of it." Clara smiles with astonishment, her eyes sparkling. Clara than turned to Momoi and the two exchanged a few words before they were interrupted by a smooth silk voice.

"I apologize you had to see all that Miss Inari…" Akashi caught up with the rest of the group; he slightly looked behind him where Aomine, Midorima, and Murasakibara were pouting and annoyed while Toya looked devastated for being scolded by a high school student. "Even though these three 'gentlemen' are in their second year of high school they should have known better and I am especially sorry that your older brother is acting like a child as well, it must be tough." Akashi said with a chastised tone towards the guys.

"Ah, no, I am okay…" Clara stammered in her speech with a smile. "I am so used to my brother being like this that I forgot how to be embarrassed around him, so I just ignore him."

Toya nearly tripped over his own feet from Clara blunt, hurtful words. "Lottie!" Toya whimpered as he tried to get his sister to forgive his childish antics but of course Clara couldn't stay mad at her brother for long as she lets him hug her gently to him. Clara pats her brother on the head like what you would do for a sad pet puppy.

As the day went on Clara made fast friends with Momoi and Riko. Riko actually gave Clara some advice on training she could do for volleyball; even Momoi gave Clara some advice as well about how to possibly join the volleyball team even after sign ups were over with. Clara couldn't help the big smile on her face as she returned the favor by giving the girls some advice for baking and cooking but Clara couldn't help but feel like what she said went through one ear and out the other.

While the girls were talking a pair of violet eyes peered at Clara's back. Murasakibara watched closely as Clara got closer to the girls, a small smile graced his lips. The giant felt happy that Clara was starting to make more friends and much to his relief, female friends.

Murasakibara glared down at Midorima and Aomine who where still at his side. The giant didn't like how either one of them looked at Clara as she walked ahead of them. Murasakibara wasn't too concerned with Aomine because the giant knew now that navy blue hair teen will lose interest as soon as he leaves. Midorima on the other hand...

Murasakibara watched as Midorima quickened his pace to catch up with Clara. The two started to talk with a comfortable air around them, causing a discomfort to rise in the pit of Murasakibara's stomach. The giant sighed slightly as he put his hands in his pockets and making another slight pout.

"Guess… I can't deny it any longer, huh?"

Tatsuya who was close by looked to Murasakibara. "Did you say something Atsushi?"

Murasakibara shook his head, as his attention didn't wonder from the female blonde student ahead of him. "No… no I didn't."

"Atsushi, what are you going to do for finals that are coming up?" Tatsuya asked with curiosity.

The giant looked at his teammate with an arched eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you barely passed your previous tests and we can't have you failing the next exams…" Tatsuya said as he started to lecture at Murasakibara.

It was at that moment that Murasakibara remembered they were going to go to a training camp during summer vacation, Murasakibara groaned. The giant much rather stay at home to eat his beloved snacks.

Murasakibara sighed heavily. "Muro-chin, why must you ruin my mood with your constant need to practice?"

Tatsuya pointed towards Kuroko and Kagami. "By all means, don't come but don't cry like a child again the next time they beat you."

The giant pouted at the words but a strange sensation burned in his chest. Murasakibara did want to win against the new light and shadow and that sensation actually beaten out the laziness inside of him. However, the feeling of dread to study started to fester in his chest, but his ears perked at Tatsuya's suggestion.

"We could ask Clara if she would like to join us in our studying… never know…" Tatsuya looked at the lavender hair teen with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Maybe she will be kind enough to make snacks during our study sessions."

Murasakibara didn't look back at Tatsuya as he made his way over to Clara with determination in his violet eyes. Takao gave Tatsuya a high five for getting the giant riled up. Murasakibara reached out to take a hold of Clara's head to make her stop walking. The blonde jumped to a stop as she looked up. Midorima looked pissed as soon as he saw the lavender hair interrupted his conversation with Clara.

"Mura-?"

But before Murasakibara could say anything Toya was on him like white on rice! With strength from his football training he was able to toss the giant away from his little sister.

"You bastard! What the hell do you think you are doing?" Toya growled as stood in front of Clara to protect her from the giant brute.

"Toya! Honestly, he wasn't going to hurt me…" Clara stepped aside from her brother to Murasakibara just as he was getting back on his feet. "Are you okay Murasakibara?"

Clara stared up gently at the purple hair teen with a smile yet concern look in her eyes; she even cocked her head to the side when he didn't answer right away. However the words were stuck in Murasakibara's mouth as he noticed that everyone in their group was watching with mild amusement. Toya on the other hand looked like he wanted to smack the lummox away from his beloved sister.

Murasakibara looked to the side muttering. "Nothing… you had lint in your hair…" The giant said softly as a bit of pink tinted his cheeks. "Let's go, I am getting hungry…"

Murasakibara went ahead of the group with Clara close behind, pestering him about what he really wanted to say, leaving the rest of the group behind them. Midorima was fast to catch up and soon the green and purple hair teens were bickering back and forth once again with Clara trying to calm them down.

Tatsuya watched with a smile on his face as he walked next to Kagami. The red head looked towards his childhood friend with a smirk of his own as he pointed at the retreating teens.

"How long have they been going out?"

Toya sprayed his drink that he was sipping quietly, dousing Aomine's back. The dark skin teen shouted in anger as he spun to face Toya but he was actually held back by Tetsuya with the help of Momoi. However, Toya hardly noticed as he spun on his heels to grasp the red head's shirt to proceed to yell at him.

"They're not going out, he isn't good enough for my sister!" Toya's shouting made him spit all over Kagami's face making the fiery red hair teen to become agitated by the sudden actions of the older brother but before Kagami could do anything; Toya let's go to whimper with manly tears rolling on his face.

"No one is good for my Lottie… so you all." Toya whipped around pointing at every single guy in the group. "…You stay away from my sister if you have 'those' intentions… especially YOU!" Toya pointed at Aomine who was just finishing drying his back.

"I do what I want old man." Aomine said with conviction and absolute. "If there is something or someone I want I will get it."

Murasakibara overheard Aomine conviction, he would have to keep a close eye on Clara as he finally started to understand what that discomfort in his chest was every time he saw another guy talking to Clara, or that warm fuzzy feeling he got whenever Clara smiled brightly at him. Either way, whether she liked him or not, he knew he wanted to protect that smile that he likes so much, so he will become that unmovable, impenetrable object and will attempt to stop any unstoppable force.

Murasakibara looked down at Clara as she stared up at him, she had a smile on her face.

' _Yeah… I want to protect that smile…_ '

~!~

After two weeks of gruesome studying the teacher took the last piece of paper from a student, signifying the end of final exams before summer vacation.

"The results will be posted tomorrow morning, those who have failed any of their classes will be taking supplementary exams on…" The teacher continued to talk about make up exams and study groups but Clara was confident that she wouldn't have to take any make up exams.

"Alright, that is it for today! Take care and see you tomorrow." The teacher turned to leave the classroom while the students all stretched and sighed in relief.

Several students went to their friends to talk about the exams, some seem happy others looked miserable.

"Ahhh! Finally done!" Clara stretched as she started to pack her school supplies.

With final exams finally over Clara felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. Clara stopped cleaning up her desk to look out the window. A few birds flew by, almost like they were signifying the freedom she felt in her heart and soul. After the school festival it was nothing but studying and more studying. There were nights that Clara only got five hours of sleep sometimes only three nevertheless Clara stayed awake to keep up with her notes, though she did have one incident where she actually fell out of her chair during class but she pushed that memory deep, deep down in her memory bank.

Clara leaned back against her chair, resting her head on the empty desk behind her. The blonde teen had a huge smile on her face. Not just because exams were over but also because that meant that summer vacation was just around the corner! Clara couldn't wait to hit the beach or go back home to see her mother. The possibilities for the summer were…

"Oi, Cookie."

Clara's eyes snapped open as they met with a pair of lavender ones. Murasakibara leaned ever so close that Clara could almost, ALMOST feel his medium length lavender hair on her cheek. Clara had to hold her self down or face smacking the giant in the face from the sudden surprise.

"Ah! Don't do that Murasakibara! You trying to send me to my grave early?" Clara pouted as she moved sideways to get out of her desk chair.

"What are you doing for summer vacation?" Murasakibara asked, ignoring Clara's exaggerated question and to continue to press his own question.

Clara sighed at this as she put her hands to her hips, pouting slightly from being ignored. "Nothing is really set in stone, I might just go back home…"

"You are coming to training camp with Muro-chin and I." Murasakibara once again ignored Clara's plans to declare his own plans for her; Murasakibara stared down at a surprised Clara.

Clara's eyes bulged wide open. "I am… what?"

"Our manager quit a few days ago and the coach needs someone to help her during training, so you are coming with." Murasakibara still sounded like it was a definite 'yes' from Clara, even though she was still too dumbstruck to even speak at the moment to answer back.

However Clara finally found her voice when Murasakibara turned to end the conversation.

"Just… Just wait a second!" Clara dashed around the giant and stared up at him with a slight panic in her eyes. "You can't just decide on this! I am sorry your manager quit but that doesn't mean you should force me to be a replacement!" Clara continued to her argument. "And besides, I am not that good with basketball, wouldn't it be better to get someone who actually knew more about the rules and the game than someone who just knows the basics?"

Murasakibara continued to watch Clara in silence as she continued to say as to why she wouldn't be the right choice for the manager position. But it seemed like Murasakibara didn't hear any of it as what he said next made Clara stop her rambling excuses.

"There is a beach near by, they have volleyball nets on the beach and you can rent out the balls for free because we are high school students…" Murasakibara said with a smirk when Clara flinched at the mention of her favorite sport.

"R…Really?" Clara said with sparkles in her eyes.

Murasakibara had to push down a smirk that threatened to escape his lips but he was able to contain himself by pinching himself on the leg.

"Also the Yōsen volleyball team goes there for practice during the summer as well, who knows… maybe if you show off your stuff while they're practicing maybe they will reconsider letting you on the team." The giant let out a soft smile as Clara looked like she had been given the last cookie from the cookie jar.

"D…do you think…" Clara asked timidly, her eyes and voice pleading with desperation. "Do you think that could happen? That they just might let me join the team?"

Murasakibara looked taken back from her expression but he lets a gentle smile slip past as he watched Clara start to formulate a plan as to how to impress the coach and the other players. But her thoughts where interrupted when Murasakibara put one of his large hand on top of her head.

"Don't worry… You can do it…"

Clara looked up at her classmate, searching his eyes to see if he meant what he said. When his eyes didn't falter, Clara couldn't help the beaming smile that graced her lips. Her emerald eyes sparkled from Murasakibara's kind words that she almost looked like she was about to cry. Clara turned to quickly gather the remaining school supplies left on her desk; Clara smiled her heart out at the possibility of her joining the team she wanted to get on sense she moved to Akita.

And it took everything Murasakibara had to stop himself from embracing the ecstatic girl in front of him. Normally the mention of hard work or bending over backwards for anything really pissed him off. However, after seeing Clara look so happy when she played volleyball by herself in the gymnasium that day showed Murasakibara how much she enjoyed the game and that she would do anything to just play for a minute on the court. Clara almost inspired Murasakibara to work a little harder for his upcoming basketball practice.

Almost.

Tatsuya appeared in the doorway. "Atsushi, it's time for practice."

Murasakibara groaned as the mere thought of practice turned into a reality, but he turned to Clara just as she finished getting her things in her bag. "You coming, Cookie?"

Clara drapes her bag over her shoulder and lightly jogged over to Murasakibara and Tatsuya at the doorway, "Yeah!"

~!~

Wow! Over a month sense I last updated my story! I apologize, work had been crazy this past month that I barely had time to wright after I gotten home, because I am also a freelance video editor so that cut down my writing time as well! So again, I apologize and I also want to say thank you for being so patient everyone!

I hope you enjoy this chapter, because this closed out the festival and now summer vacation is about to start! Will Clara get her long time wish to join the Yōsen high just in time for the fall tournament? Or will she be rejected again? And what's this! Murasakibara is starting to admit he has feelings for Clara?! Whhhaaaa?! Well let's see what happens in the next chapter, which will introduce new characters and… maybe familiar characters ;) Heheh, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I promise I will get the next one out as soon as I am able!

Thank you again! And see you ya'll in the next chapter!

CrazyBunni, out!


	14. Chapter 14

The ocean breeze gently ruffled Clara's blonde hair from inside of a rented van. Green eyes sparkled at the vast blue sea before her, excitement growing every passing second. Clara noticed that several people were walking, lounging and just whatever they could do on that amazing afternoon. Clara looked up from the back of the van at everyone ahead of her.

The Yōsen High basketball team didn't seem all that interested in the ocean life, some where either reading, listening to music or in Murasakibara's case: eating.

Clara rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Tatsuya Himuro already explained to the girl that this wasn't the teams first trip to the training camp but still, how could you not get excited?

"Cookie… your leg is twitching again…" Murasakibara's droll tone made Clara look next to her. Atsushi Murasakibara was laying down with his head and back resting against the side of Clara's body, he also wore a pair of headphones while nibbling on some potato chips. Clara stopped her anxious leg from twitching but it started up again which caused the giant to sigh slightly.

During their trip Murasakibara told Clara he was going to use her as some kind of pillow, however Clara was used to being some kind of makeshift pillow for her bothers whenever the threesome watched a movie at home or went on car rides, so Clara didn't care.

"Sorry, I am just excited, I haven't been to the ocean in a while." Clara giggled as she glanced sideways at the lavender hair that tickled her cheek and now her nose.

"It's just the Honjo Marina Beach, it's not like it's Miyakojima or Shirahama." Murasakibara said with a yawn.

Clara ignored his comment with a bigger smile and enthusiasm. "Doesn't matter, it's still gonna be fun." Clara leaned back as she continued to let the wind caress her cheek.

Because of the angle Murasakibara was in Clara couldn't see the slight smile that graced the giant's lips. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was almost looking forward to this training camp as well. After Murasakibara found out his feelings for Clara a week ago he felt like he wanted to spend more time with her. If the team's previous manger hadn't quit Murasakibara wouldn't had seen the blond for a month. Just enough time for her brother, Toya, to somehow turn Clara against the somewhat gentle giant.

Murasakibara felt a slight weight on top of his head. He looked up ever so slightly and saw that Clara was resting peacefully. Murasakibara couldn't hide his smile as he whispered softly. "Silly… we are almost to the resort…"

Murasakibara turned slightly back into a comfortable position as he too felt a wave of exhaustion that forced his eyes to flutter shut. Either of them didn't notice that their picture was taken by an amused Tatsuya.

~!~

Clara squealed as she stood in front of the resort where she and the Yōsen Basketball team were going to stay. The building was huge, with a wooden exterior and overall traditional mid 1800 Japanese feel.

"I feel like I should be wearing a Yukata right now." Clara giggled as she turned back to the van to start helping with the baggage. However, she never had a chance to carry anything in when Murasakibara and several other players took it upon themselves to help with the baggage.

The Yosen High coach, Masako Araki, smirked. "If I would have known having a female manager would help whip these boys more into some sort of common sense I would have gotten one sooner."

Clara blinked at the coach, "Why didn't you get a female manager?"

"Most of the girls at Yosen are a little more worried about school work and making sure not to be anywhere sweat can drip of them and the girls who don't mind are either on another team as a player or their manager."

Clara nodded as she understood.

Once inside Clara found herself with her very own room, well, an adjoined room with the coach. Clara looked at the schedule and saw that today was going to be a short practice because of the several hour long trip from home to the resort and the coach knew how important rest was for her team.

Clara gently knocked on the side door to the coach's room, which she answered promptly.

"Coach Araki is it okay if I go to the beach for a bit?" Clara had sparkles in her eyes that nearly blinded the female coach.

Araki looked at her watch on her left wrist. "I don't mind, but make sure you come back before practice tonight." Araki barely finished her 'okay' when Clara nearly bolted towards the door to change into her swim suit and than proceed to run out the door in a cute beach get up.

~!~

Clara gasped as she came to a busy part of the beach. Children were either playing in the same with their parents or with their friends; from making sandcastles to splashing about in the shallow part of the water. Others that were Clara's age or several years older were also enjoying their time on the beach. Girls were giggling as they sunbathed. Boys were trying their hardest to either impress girls that were nearby them or just showing off to their friends. Either way, everyone was having a great time and Clara didn't want to miss any of it!

Clara tied her blonde hair into a side braid as she made her way towards the beach volleyball courts. The girl teenager's heart was about to burst out of her chest as she neared the nets. Several people were playing already, thankfully there were several courts for multiple groups.

Clara spot rent-a-shack not too far, she made her way over and retrieved a ball. The feel of the used leather ball nearly made Clara cry in excitement but suddenly she realized something.

"I forgot to invite Murasakibara and Himuro…" Clara chuckled to herself. She looked around to see if the other groups wanted an extra player but she didn's see an opening much to her disappointment.

Clara sighed as she started to bump the ball by herself, keeping a nice pace, soon she started to bump from one wrist to the other but she hit the ball in an awkward way that it bounced off the side of her wrist and rolled towards a boy who was on his phone, the boy jumped when he was slightly sprayed with sand suddenly.

Clara gasped as she jogged her way over. "I am so sorry!"

The boy shook his hair blonde hair to get rid of any pesky sand that could have gotten in. As Clara got closer she noticed that the boy must dye his hair as his natural hair was showing at the roots. The boy looked towards Clara with his golden eyes as she leaned over to retrieve the ball.

"I am very sorry." Clara had worry in etched on her face. "Is your phone okay?"

The boy looked back towards his phone and nodded, Clara almost didn't catch what he said.

"It's fine… it's to be expected sitting close to the courts." The boy's voice held a bored tone as he went back to his phone.

Clara for some reason stayed where she was, she couldn't help be slightly intrigue by the multi-colored hair boy. She cocked her head to the side with a smile.

"Is that any fun?"

"Not really… just passing… time…" The boy suddenly looked up and his head cocked to the side as well as he went into deep thought. "Déjà vu?" The boy shook his head as he looked up at Clara.

"Passing time? Are you waiting for someone?" Clara asked as she moved a little closer.

"Yeah…"

"Hmmm…." Clara went into deep thought now as well. "Well, if you are bored, do you wanna bump the volleyball back and forth? Might make the time go faster?"

The boy looked up, seeming ready to turn down her offer but the sparkles in Clara's eyes made him waver and hesitate.

"You… remind me of someone I met not too long ago…" The boy said with an expression Clara couldn't read.

Clara stood up straighter as she came to realize something. "I am sorry, I am being rude, huh?" Clara chuckled nervously. "First I almost hit you with a volleyball and now I am asking you to play and I haven't even introduced myself," Clara laughed lightly again as she pointed towards herself. "I am Clara Inari."

The boy blinked at her several times before he looked away as he answered. "Kenma Kozume."

Clara smiled brightly. "It is nice to meet you; I hope your friend gets here soon." Clara turned to head back towards the nets, "See you around."

Clara waved as she walked back towards her spot while bumping the ball with her wrist again, every so often she would look back to see if Kenma was still sitting there by himself. Clara than went back to focus on her bumps when she smacked the ball high in the air towards the net. Clara dashed towards the net and with a well timed leap she was able to spike her own toss. Clara squeaked to herself as she felt the burning and stinging sensation on her palm. How she missed that wonderful feeling.

After Clara retrieved the ball she looked over towards Kenma but saw that the multi-colored teen was no longer in site. Clara smiled gently to herself, "His friends must have come to get him, good, he looked a little lonely by himself."

"You look a little lonely by yourself."

Clara jumped from the sudden voice behind her, she turned around to see a half naked Murasakibara and Tatsuya.

"Guys!" Clara smiled brightly as she picked up the ball and jogged over to them. "What are you doing here?"

"We went to your room to see if you wanted to go grab lunch from the in house restaurant but Coach Araki said you were down at the beach." Tatsuya grinned.

"Kind of stingy that you didn't invite us, Cookie…" Murasakibara said sternly without giving her eye contact as he spoke, his face tinged pink.

Clara didn't noticed as she barely could hide her excitement. "Do you guys wanna play?" She held out the ball with a bright smile,

"It's kind of uneven, would it be you and I?" Tatsuya asked as he pointed to himself.

The two boy teenagers eyes grew slightly when Clara shook her head, her smile getting bigger and brighter.

"Nope, me against you two." Clara winked at the boys as she went on the other side of the net, causing them both to stare at her in disbelief.

"Don't you think that puts you at a disadvantage?" Murasakibara voiced Tatsuya thoughts.

Clara smirked. "Basketball is your sport Murasakibara, however this is my sport. I know I can beat you." Clara had fire in her eyes as she stood on her side of the net.

The giant smirked. "Fine, don't cry when you lose."

Clara smirked back as she tossed the ball at the two. "Your serve, rookie."

Clara spread her legs apart in a almost squat position, her hands posed at the side as she focused on Tatsuya with the volley ball in hand. With a fist Tatsuya did a under hand serve, the hit was soft that it just barely went over the net.

Murasakibara watched as Clara closely, there was no way she can win by herself, how is she going to cover the entire… As Murasakibara was thinking this Clara dived towards the ball in an amazing speeds. She bumped the ball in the air with an out stretched wrist, hitting the leather ball in the air high enough for her to recover. Clara kicked up sand in a spinning motion and with an amazing skill she used both hands to bump the ball over the net and it landed the farthest away from the two Yosen students.

Murasakibara and Tatsuya turned to look at the ball that plopped in the sand and than looked back at Clara who didn't even break a sweat as she straighten her posture, she looked over her shoulder and eyes Murasakibara, her face went into a mocking smirk.

"Zero to one."

Murasakibara felt a twinge of competitive fire burning as he stood near the net. Clara smirked as she stood at the serving line but Murasakibara and Tatsuya watched Clara step further back, maybe a good five no seven feet away feet away from the line.

"Cookie! You won't get the ball over if you are that far away…" Murasakibara said in a teasing tone but Clara didn't seem to hear him as she twirled in the ball in both her hands.

Clara finally looked up with a smirk as she tossed the ball high in the air, she watched the ball for a mere millisecond before running towards the serving line. Tatsuya and Murasakibara watched in amazement when Clara jumped several feet in the air to smack the ball hard.

The volleyball went sailing over the net in a high speed to smack down in the sand. It sprayed sand slightly before bouncing a foot in the air and than landing again to a stop. Once again, Murasakibara and Tatsuya stared at the ball laying in the sand.

"Zero to two." Clara giggled as she jogged to grab the ball from the awestruck teens. "Come on you guys, you are making this way too easy." Clara mocked the two, snapping them out of their stupor.

"This time I am gonna stop you, Cookie…" Murasakibara stated with a low tone, his hands in a position ready to stop Clara's serve.

"Let's see about that." Clara giggled as she was having the time of her life in that moment.

Once again Clara did her amazing jump serve but unlike last time Murasakibara was quick to strike as he blocked the serve, the ball fell on Clara said and hit the sand. Murasakibara had a smug look on his face but that changed when Clara announced the score.

"Zero to three." Clara laughed as she jogged to retrieve the ball. "It's against the rules now to block a serve." She winked as she went back over to the serving line.

"What?! You made that up." Murasakibara said with a pout but Tatsuya confirmed it on his phone, causing Murasakibara to pout more. "Fine, I will stop you this time…"

Clara giggled as she once again made a serve this time Tatsuya made contact first with a bump towards Murasakibara, used his height to slam the ball into the ground towards Clara, however instead of receiving the spike Clara dodged to the side, letting the ball go past her. Clara spun just in time to see the ball hit past the out of bounds line. Clara turned her head slightly and smirked.

"Zero to four."

Murasakibara was growing angry, his cheeks flushing read. Clara giggled as she came over and pat Murasakibara on the arm gently, causing the giant to suddenly snap out of his anger.

"Clam down, Murasakibara, you are not used to this game, so it's easy to get you riled up to get you to make mistakes." Clara giggled again as she hands the ball to Murasakibara. "Come on serve the ball, I want to receive."

Clara headed back towards the middle on her side of the court however, she noticed that Kenma Kozume was back in the very spot he was sitting before and he wasn't alone, Clara saw another boy right beside him. The other boy was about the same height as Tatsuya maybe slightly taller because of his spiked hair, to Clara it almost seemed like bed hair. Kenma's friend seemed to be watching closely as his eyes were narrow with a cat like grin on his lips, it almost looked like he was scheming something. Clara felt a shiver run down her spine, like she was being preyed on. Clara shook off the tingle she felt and waved toward Kenma.

"Hey, Kenma! Wanna play?" Clara said brightly. Kenma jumped when his attention was pulled away from his phone. His friend leaned slightly to talk to Kenma and for a second Kenma looked reluctant about something his companion said.

"Cookie, how do you know them?" Murasakibara said in a low tone as he stepped close to her, shielding her from the strange guys.

"The boy with the blonde hair with his roots showing is someone I met about an hour or two ago, I accidently kicked some sand at him when I was bumping the ball around." Even though Clara had a small smile on her face her voice had a trace of guilt. "I don't know who the other one is, he might be the friend he was waiting for.

Kenma turned his attention back to his phone seemed to be mumbling about something to his companion, who was still talking to him about something. Suddenly the friend made a wide grin and after he spoke about something Kenma seemed to have perked up to the point he stood up to make his way over towards Clara and the others. Kenma's friend stayed behind with a smirk on his face.

Clara smiled as she waved gently. "Nice to see you again, I am glad you got to meet up with your friend." Clara looked back towards the guy sitting on the ground, still having that cat like grin on his face.

"That's Kuroo… he said he would buy a few games at an arcade if I play he said he wanted to observe something…" Kenma said bluntly but that only caused Clara to laugh.

"You don't have to play if you don't want to." Clara said softly but the look on Kenma's face said he wanted to play some video games, which caused Clara to giggled again. "You really like video games huh? Okay, then let's play a few serves… Guys, this is Kenma Kozume, and that is Kuroo. Kenma, this is Atsushi Murasakibara and Tatsuya Himuro they're kind of new at this and… what's wrong Murasakibara?"

As Clara made introductions but afterwards she couldn't help but noticed that Murasakibara seemed to be pouting a lot more than usual now that Kenma came over to play. When Murasakibara said nothing Clara still tried to figure out what could have gotten under the giant's skin but she pushed her curiosity down as she pointed towards Kuroo.

"Does your friend want to play?" Clara asked as she felt bad for leaving Kenma's friend out of the fun but Kenma shook his head.

"No, he wants to watch." Kenma said as he got close to the net and looked at Clara. "I won't let the ball drop…"

Murasakibara returned back to the serving line and without warning he slammed the ball for another serve, still feeling a little ticked off at the new comer. Unlike the last serve where Clara dodge the ball, Clara actually made the receive, making the ball go high in the air towards Kenma.

"Nice receive!" Kuroo shouted from the sidelines.

As Clara made a mad dash towards the net she watched Kenma as HE watched the ball closely, the blonde and black hair boy made his way into position and once he was settled he waited patiently for the ball to drop. Once it was close, Kenma quickly looked towards Clara just as she started to jump in the air for a spike and it was in that moment that Kenma pushed the ball back up into the air with his finger tips in a beautiful toss that almost made Clara cry.

Clara jumped high in the air, not caring one bit that she had Murasakibara and Tatsuya in front of her ready to block her spike and their block was in vain when Clara did a small feint to the side getting the point.

Once back on the ground, Clara turned her attention to Kenma and took a hold of his shoulders, her grip shaking as she stared into his golden eyes with her sparkling green eyes.

"Kenma! That was an amazing toss! Are you on a volleyball team or in some kind of club?! You have to be!" Clara could hardly contain her excitement as she continued to fast talk at Kenma, barely letting him have a word out.

Finally, when Clara settled down Kenma spoke softly. "I am on my high school volleyball team… I am the setter."

Clara smiled brightly. "You really are amazing, that was a good toss! Can you give me another one?"

Kenma once again looked reluctant but he nodded as his video gaming was on the line. For almost another 30 minutes, Clara had been getting toss after toss from Kenma with hardly any of her spikes or feints being blocked even with Murasakibara's size.

Tatsuya wiped some sweat off his brow with his forearm, Murasakibara just let the salty sweat drip as he watched Clara closely talking with Kenma, they would talk for a few minutes right before his next toss to her.

"Let's go Cookie, it's almost time for basketball practice."

Tatsuya's mouth gapped open from Murasakibara's statement. Clara on the other hand didn't seemed bothered by it as she nodded.

"Gotcha!" Clara turned back to Kenma and held out her hand. "Thanks for playing a few serves with me and my friends, you are an amazing setter."

Kenma looked off to the side. "Don't mention it."

Kuroo came over as if he noticed that the Yosen students were about to take off. He stood in front of Clara.

"Not bad, you have good instincts and tempo with your spikes. Receives are pretty decent too, are you on a team?" Kuroo still had a smirk on his face as he watched Clara closely, making Murasakibara feel even more uncomfortable.

"No, I am not sadly, when I tried to join the club was already filled but there is a chance they might come to this beach for training and if they do show up I am gonna show them what I can do." Clara laughed as she made a pumping motion with her arms as she smiled at Kenma and Kuroo.

"So you will be coming back tomorrow than?" Murasakibara noticed that this guy made a quick glance at him, his grin widening more as Clara confirmed she would be back for more practice.

However, before Kuroo could get another word out, Murasakibara already took a hold of her hand to start leading her back towards the gymnasium where practice was going to take place. Clara blinked in confusion at Murasakibara's actions but it dawned on her as she turned around.

"Sorry, we are going to be late for their practice! Later!" Clara explained as she waved back towards Kenma and Kuroo.

Tatsuya was jogging to catch up after still being slightly daze at Murasakibara's thirst for practice.

"Sorry about that Murasakibara, I got caught up in volleyball." Clara giggled as she looked up at him.

Murasakibara mumbled. "It's fine… I just don't want Araki yelling at us…" Murasakibara wanted to say more than that, he wanted to tell Clara not to come back knowing those two might be there but, he didn't want that. The look on Clara's face when she was playing made his heart race, she looked so happy. Him telling her to not play because of his jealousy was like her telling him he couldn't have snacks because she was on a diet. He didn't want to take that happiness away, so he bit back his jealously.

"How long are you two going to hold hands?"

Tatsuya teasing tone broke Murasakibara out of his little daze, making him realize he was still holding Clara's hand, his fingers entwined with hers. It seemed that Clara also just realized they were still holding hands. Murasakibara snapped his hand away, blushing madly as he walked faster than the two behind him.

Tatsuya smiled as he watched Clara jogged to keep up with Murasakibara.

~!~

As the three left, none of them realized that a girl around Clara's age saw the whole thing, her short styled hair blew softly in the wind. A volleyball tucked underneath her arm.

The girl had a huge toothy smile on her face, her grey eyes sparkling, and with excitement in her gruff Kansai accent she spoke out. "She wasn' bluffin'... she's good."

"Jun! Hurry the hell up, Damn it!" Another girl came running up, snapping the ball away, her long brown hair was tied in a messy bun her brown red eyes burning in frustration when she noticed her teammate was watching something or someone in the distance. "What the hell you lookin' at?"

"Don't know yet... guess I will have to wait and see tomorrow..." The girl turned, leaving the other girl angry and confused until she blew air out mouth in attempt to calm down.

"Whatever..."

The twosome made their way back to their own volleyball court where other girls were waiting. All of them wore the same a jersey shirt that sprouted a bold text.

 _'Yōsen Highschool Girls' Volleyball Team.'_

~!~

After a good three hour basketball practice the team went back to their respected rooms, resting their tired muscles.

Murasakibara and Tatsuya were able to share a room with each other along with two other players who were actually out of the room for the moment. Tatsuya looked towards Murasakibara as the giant nibbled on some potato chips he retrieved from a nearby vending machine.

"By the way Atsushi… I took a wonderful photo earlier today during our trip here…" Tatsuya had a wicked grin on his pretty face. "Want to see it?"

"Not really… unless it's a picture of sweets." Murasakibara seemed a little chipper as he mentioned sweets.

Tatsuya chuckled as he shook his head. "Well, it might be considered sweet looking." Tatsuya chuckled as he passed his opened phone to the giant.

It took a few seconds for Murasakibara to register what he was seeing. It was back in the van where Murasakibara was using Clara as a make shift pillow, his had a content look on his face and somewhere during the ride Clara as they both slept Clara's head gently laid on top of his own, also with a content look on her face. Also at some point Clara put her hand on Murasakibara's chest, it almost looked like she was holding him close.

"Muro-chin…" Murasakibara's voice was low and dark. "I'm deleting this…"

Tatsuya actually looked shocked. "But why? I think it looks cute, why do you want to delete it?"

"Because it…"

Suddenly there was a chime behind Murasakibara, his phone was vibrating as it chimed again, indicating he received a message. The two froze in spot and suddenly Tatsuya couldn't help the smirk that twisted his handsome features.

"Did you just sent that picture to yourself before deleting it?"

Murasakibara's face went completely red as he turned his back on his teammate, not wanting to talk anymore. "I am going to bed…"

~!~

Wow another month went by! That is crazy how this year is coming to a close, are you guys ready for the 75.5 episode of Kuroko's Basketball? I can't express how freaking excited I am to see it!

Anyways!

What do you guys think of some Haikyuu characters joining in the fray?

To be honest, didn't even know there was a manga/anime that was all about volleyball when I had Clara be a volleyball player but after watching it and the players during their training in Tokyo in the second season I thought maybe some of the team members can give her a little advice and to also help Clara with her skill set, however what do you guys think of the small cross over?

How did you like this chapter over all? i hope you like it as much as I loved writing it! See you in chapter 15!


	15. Chapter 15

Morning sun attacked Clara's face making her brow and eyes squint, a soft groan passes her lips until a yawn escapes. Her eyes flutter open, trying to adjust to the harsh lighting. As Clara slowly raises to a sitting position, waves and waves of discomfort shoots up her legs and arms, making her message the sore areas. However, despite the slight pain she felt she had a content smile on her face.

"Ahhh haha." Clara laughs lightly as she slowly crawls out of bed and begins some morning stretches. At the end of her little routine, Clara rotates her shoulder making a few joints crack, afterwards she began to rub her legs. "I must be getting out of shape if I am this sore." Clara gingerly climbs out of bed and heads to the shower. Hot water breamed down in a soft patter, once in Clara gets her hair nice and damp before scrubbing her hair until it had a nice foam from her shampoo.

Once done she dried her hair and styled it into a nice side braid again, leaving a few tendrils hanging to frame her face. As she brushed her teeth she quickly changed into shorts, a tee shirt and sneakers. Clara turned to head back to the bathroom to spit out her toothpaste but was stopped when a knock came to her door.

"Mmmfph!" Clara nearly dribbled her toothpaste spite all over her clothes thankfully she was able to catch anything that really slipped by, keeping her hand right above her chin she dashed in and out of the bathroom to quickly answer the door. "Sorry, I was brushing my teeth." Clara said with a coughing laugh as she opened her door.

A giant hand reached out to clasp Clara's head, squeezing gently. Clara laughed as she felt a few strands of hair coming undone from her braid.

"Ahhh! Murasakibara!" Clara cried out as she swats his hand away, still laughing somewhat as she pats down her hair to attempt to straighten it out once more. "Awe man…isn't it too early to tease me like that?" Clara went back into her room to grab her room key.

"Breakfast is ready let's go before Muro-chin eats everything." Murasakibara reached out to put his hand on the small of her back as he ushers her towards the dinning room. He was defiantly in a hurry.

"That's funny coming from you." Clara giggled as she closed the door behind her before the twosome got too far away. "What is on the breakfast menu that you are so excited about?"

"I am not excited." Murasakibara's eyes betrayed his hungry desires and his stomach growling didn't help much either.

Clara laughed as she poked his side gently. "I think your stomach would disagree with you."

Murasakibara blushed lightly as he pushed her faster down the hall way until they finally reached the dinning room once there Clara blinked as she saw everyone on the team looking towards them with hungry looks in their eyes. Clara blinked as she looked around.

"Uh… what is…"

"I am sorry, Inari…" Tatsuya came over with a sigh. "I tried to convince them to make their own but apparently there's a stove here and…"

Clara nodded. "Ahh… so, everyone wants me to make them breakfast…" Clara sighed as she put her hands to her hips. "You know, you guys are not the only patrons here… what happens if some family comes in and…."

"Than you better hurry and start making breakfast…" Murasakibara said with an earnest voice as he once again ushers her towards where the cooker was at.

"But they also have a kitchen, why not let the cook do his job?!" Clara dug her feet in the ground to try to keep herself from moving but she soon found herself in front of the equipment.

"Please, Inari! We will have to eat this food for two, maybe three weeks! Can you please do this maybe once a week?" Wei Liu said with his hands clasped together along with several first years.

Clara sighed as she rolled up pretend sleeves. "Fine but only once a week… I can't do this all the time you know… and Murasakibara…" Clara pointed at him. "You are going last."

Clara swore she saw a little apparition come seeping out of Murasakibara's mouth, the giant was too stunned to say anything as Tatsuya lead him to a table. Clara felt a giggle as she turned to begin cooking.

Thankfully everyone was stuck with either having omelets or pancakes, there was more than one stove top AND all the side dishes were on a salad type bar, so everyone was able to eat miso soup, rice or some other traditional Japanese breakfast side dishes. Clara was able to make everyone their own meals in an actual decent amount of time, even though she had twelve orders to fill, plus a couple more pancakes for several other plays including Murasakibara. Clara sighed as she sat down, her own stomach gargling.

"Where is your breakfast, Cookie?" Murasakibara asked as he chow down on his pancakes with a satisfied sparkle in his eyes.

"I am too tired to make breakfast for myself now… I will probably just have some yogurt and fruit." Clara said as she got up but before she even had a chance to push out her chair some yogurt containers and several kinds of fruit was laid out for her, even a bowl of rice with miso soup was ready. Clara looked up as she saw her table was surrounded by happy faces. The team actually gathered food for her while she wasn't looking.

"Thank you for the meal, Manager." Clara got a few pats on the back as some team members left the room.

Clara watched them leave with a dumbfounded look on her face, she looked at the food sprawled out in front of her and than back to the retreating team and than back to the food. Clara felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips, her smile soft.

Tatsuya got up and gave her a pat on the shoulder as well. "Thanks again, Inari. It was pretty damn good." Tatsuya said with a smile as he also left, leaving both Clara and Murasakibara alone.

Clara was blushing lightly as she ate her different kinds of yogurt either by themselves or with different kind of fruit combinations. Murasakibara would watch her for a second before turning back to his food and than back up at her again. Suddenly their eyes met, making the giant nearly choke on his food. Clara gasped as she shoved a water bottle towards Murasakibara and he quickly chugged the water down.

"Jeez, careful now." Clara laughed as she took another bite of her food. "How is your breakfast by the way?" Clara giggled again as she pointed to Murasakibara's nearly empty plate and bowls.

Murasakibara was almost grateful that he choked a little, Clara wouldn't be able to tell if he was blushing than just being red from having food going down the wrong tube. Either way Murasakibara looked towards Clara right in those emerald eyes, making the girl blush herself.

"It was really good… thank you for making it…" Murasakibara made a very soft and gentle smile making the girl fumble in her words.

"Y-y-your… w-welcome." Clara smiled bashfully.

"Ah, Cookie, you have some yogurt on your cheek." Murasakibara said as he reached out to wipe the speck of dairy product from Clara's cheek. Murasakibara's hand froze as he just realized what he did, making the giant blush red however he wasn't the only one as Clara was also blushing heavily. "C-c-Cla…"

Clara's eyes widen as she stared at Murasakibara. Was… was he about to say her name?

However, it wasn't meant to be as both teens were met with severe pain to the head, both turned their teary eyes at an angry Masako Araki, the Yōsen High Basketball coach, swinging her wooden to point towards the exist.

"Practice is about to start you two are having a date! Move it!" Araki growls as she snaps the end of her wooden sword to the floor, making a sharp crackle which made Clara and Murasakibara bolt out of the dining room and towards he gym.

~!~

Three hours into practice and Clara felt like she wrote a novel. Clara skimmed through all the notes she took down while practice was going. Araki told Clara to write down everything from how many laps each player ran to how many free-throws they missed. And Clara didn't hold anything back, she even made some graphs during their water breaks.

"Coach, have you had them stretch yet?" A trainer from Yōsen appeared near Araki, his arms crossed. "If you don't any of them to get a sprain ankle or a torn ACL, I suggest you have them stretch really quick or ice down."

Araki nodded as she turned to Clara. "Inari, grab some ice packs and can you re-fill their water bottles, we break in five."

Clara nodded, "I am on it!"

Clara took told of a bag that held everyone's water bottle for her to re-fill, she even went towards an ice machine to a large bag of ice for those who want to ice their joints for a short time. Once she was back the players surrounded her, picking their water bottles and packs of ice before heading back to the court to either walk around the gym or actually take a moment to sit. Murasakibara was actually one of the few who was still practicing their shots while on break, Tatsuya was also by Murasakibara making fake blocks for the giant, even though it didn't look like Tatsuya could block the giant even if he wanted to but it did look like they were both taking each other seriously as Murasakibara showed an expression that Clara rarely sees.

"You look so different when you look serious, Murasakibara." Clara giggled as both boys stopped their defensive practice just as Clara held out their water bottles and some ice packs. "Coach wants everyone to take five to ice down and rehydrate."

"Thank you, Inari." Tatsuya said as he plopped down on a near by bleacher. Murasakibara followed suit but actually just sat down on the ground taking a huge chug of water. "Thanks for all the grunt work, Inari."

Clara smiles as she shook her head. "It's no trouble, I am glad I am able to help! You two are sure working hard, do you have a team that you are aiming to beat?"

Even though Clara was teasing the two of them, the blonde couldn't help but feel the atmosphere getting tense. Clara looked between the two and noticed that there was a fire burning in Tatsuya's eyes, a fire that she was all too familiar with when she came up against opponents that were stronger and better than her and the desire to see them crawl on the floor groveling. Even Murasakibara looked more serious than his usual bored expression.

"Whoa, are they that strong?" Clara continued to shift her attention between the teens.

"Yes, you actually already met them." Tatsuya said with a smile.

"Oh?" Clara looked at Tatsuya ready to reveal the names but her attention went to Murasakibara after he made a smacking noise after drinking the rest of his water.

"It's Kuro-chin and Kaga-chin." Murasakibara leaned forward and began some light stretching. "You went up against them during the street basketball tournament, Kuro-chin was the kid with the light blue hair."

Clara looked confused at Murasakibara and his unusual nicknaming sense. Clara looked to Tatsuya and chuckled.

"He meant my childhood friend Taiga Kagami and Tetsuya Kuroko."

Clara searched her memory banks, she immediately remembered the red headed giant and his own bottomless pit of a stomach rivaled Murasakibara to a degree and she remembered all the recipes they shared with each other.

"That's right, I remember now but… I don't remember Tetsuya Kuroko." Clara suddenly gasped as her memory of the mysterious light blue hair boy finally came back to her. "Now I remember he had that really weird but amazing pass…"

"The same pass you were able to steal from." Murasakibara said while laying his head down on his propped up knee, he had a serene smile on his face as he started up at Clara, the blonde girl blushed as she smiled.

"Some reason, I am still surprised you are not on a basketball team." Tatsuya said after taking a sip of water. "Why didn't you join?"

Clara smiled wryly. "I used to play back when I was little but it just never stuck."

"You couldn't make a basket, huh?" Murasakibara smirked.

"The hoop was too damn high for my short little arms!" Clara actually snapped, she gasped and turned her gaze away, blushing. She lightly coughed as she finally composed herself. "I mean… it just didn't work out."

Murasakibara poked her on the side of her head causing the girl to playfully swat his hand away, the two poked and teased at each other as Tatsuya watched on with a grin on his face.

"You know, it's not fair that you two get to hog Inari…" Said one player on the team and soon several others joined the trio.

"That's right, she is our manager too." The rest came over and they all chuckled as Murasakibara started to try to get them to leave but his 'shooing' wasn't working as well as he had hoped.

"Alright team, it is three in the afternoon, time for some running!" Araki shouted out as she looked down at her watch, the players began to whine and grumble in protest, causing the coach to thwack her wooden sword on the ground, scaring the team into silence. "Do you want to run even more?"

The team shook their heads as they all gathered their belongings. Murasakibara was dragging his feat gathering his gym bag and now empty water bottle. Clara could tell the giant was not up for running and they had to run at least a mile and than walk a mile back as a cool down, but thankfully the school trainer that came along would ride alongside them if anything should go wrong.

"Inari." Araki said as she looked at her new team manager. "You are free to go; the staff will be the ones cleaning the facility just make sure to pass me your notes by the end of the day." Araki than followed after her team as they all trudged off.

Clara was following close behind, feeling uneasy. "Are you sure, coach? I don't wanna leave half way through practice."

"You're not, you did well today, thank you for all your help." Araki had a kind smile on her face, a smile that is rarely seen.

"Whoa… Coach Araki looks cute when she smiles." One player said but was overheard and received a nice smack over the head by the wooden sword.

"Get to running!" Araki's kind smile left her lips as several players started to jog off.

Clara felt a wave of excitement brewing as she turned around to get her belongings and head straight to the beach! However, before she could even move an inch she was held back by the head. Murasakibara had a firm grasp on Clara's head. "What are you gonna do?"

Clara smiled, already used to Murasakibara's habit of his. "Heading to the beach! Gonna see if there are any spots open! I have been itching to play all day." Clara's smile was almost blinding.

Murasakibara sighed. "Okay, I will meet you down there after practice."

Clara smiled brightly, "Yeah! I had so much fun yesterday! So let's play again!" The blonde gave him the thumbs up before running off to grab her things, all Murasakibara could do was watch her leave the gymnasium.

"Atsushi, we are falling behind." Tatsuya pointed towards the ever fading basketball team.

Murasakibara turned around a shadow casting over his eyes. "We have to hurry…"

"Huh?" Tatsuya was confused as Murasakibara suddenly took off, because of his long legs it looked like he was sprinting. "Whoa! Wait! Atsushi?"

Murasakibara was able to catch up with the group with little to no effort, causing his teammates to literally stop and stare after him baffled. Thankfully, Tatsuya was able to follow right behind his friend.

"What is… wrong… Atsushi?" Tatsuya panted as he got next to the running giant.

"Nothing… I just wanna finish practice." Murasakibara said.

"So… when… you asking… Inari out?" Tatsuya continued to pant out but he nearly had to stop when Murasakibara almost tripped over but was able to recover. "Ha…ha… Don't deny it…"

Murasakibara looked at Tatsuya and he knew there was no way he could hide it anymore, especially not after last night and the whole phone photo. "I want to… but... I don't know how…" Murasakibara had a blush on his cheek as he continued to run.

"You can't… force it…" Tatsuya and Murasakibara turned a corner. "You have to… just let it… come out naturally…" Tatsuya than had a smirk. "But… you better hurry… and do something…"

"What do you mean?" Murasakibara's pace actually slowed down and the two stopped.

"If you keep putting it off… she will be swept off her feet by another." Tatsuya put his hands on his hips as he started to catch his breath. "The way that volleyball guy looked at her…"

Tatsuya wasn't able to finish as Murasakibara started to SPRINT. Tatsuya's mouth opened wide. "Atsushi! WAIT! I was playing around!" Tatsuya shouted as he started to sprint as well in an attempt to catch up.

~!~

The busy beach embankment was bustling with people just like the day before. Clara took a deep breath in, the salty air, the warm sun tickling her skin. Clara shuddered as she made her way to the beach volleyball courts. Like yesterday the courts were filled with friends. Clara started to look around each court to see if anyone needed another player and Clara was praying with every fiber of her being to the volleyball gods that there was.

Clara's emerald eyes scanned each volleyball game that was in progress. Little elementary school kids were playing in their own little version of the game, they were full. Another group that seemed like to be college students were playing a drunken version as one of the players tripped and fell only to get up and laugh like a bubbling idiot and Clara couldn't stop the giggle that came out of her mouth and sadly that group seemed full as well.

Clara hummed lightly to herself as she continued looking for a game that needed one more player, all the while bumping the ball with her wrist. However, the longer she looked the more hopeless it seemed however just as she was about to turn around to head back down the lane Clara couldn't help but notice a boy was crouched on the sand twirling his finger, making circles while muttering.

Clara blinked as she made her way over, some reason she felt compelled to see if he was alright. As she got closer she noticed the guy's defining features. One of the main things that stood out was his hair. Wild and spiky, white-grey with black streaks and how it was done reminded Clara of a Great Horned Owl. Even as Clara got closer she still couldn't make out what he was mumbling.

The guy just continued to draw circles in the sand his lips puckered like a fish. Clara stood there for a second looking down at the guy. The girl just couldn't help but feel like she wanted to cheer him up.

"Um… excuse me?" Clara said loud and clearly making the boy jump slightly, shocking him out of his grumbling match with himself. Clara could feel her cheek flushing hot, the boy's eyes were a strange golden brown color and he just over all good looking. Clara shook her thoughts away. "Sorry I was just wondering… are you okay? You seem kind of down."

The boy shook his head standing up quickly, Clara backed away slightly this guy was a lot taller than she thought, he had to be at least six feet, he smiled awkwardly, scratching his temple.

"Thanks but I am fine… just hit a slump with my vice captain and kind of just staying away at the moment…" The guy chuckled softly. "Sorry that I worried you."

Clara shook her head with a smile, "No reason to be sorry." Clara chuckled. "I am Clara Inari." Clara tucked the rented volleyball under her armpit as she held out her hand.

The boy took Clara's hand and with some actual strength shook her hand rapidly. "Kōtarō Bokuto, nice to meet ya." Bokuto had a wide grin on his face, seeming to be feeling a lot better than what he was before.

Soon the started to talk about what happened with Bokuto and his vice captain, it turned out that he and his teammates from Tokyo came to this beach for some training with another team and during one of their matches Bokuto got a little carried away and started to make careless mistakes which caused him to wonder off and go into his slump.

After Bokuto told his story Clara couldn't help but laugh, making the boy blush fiercely, turning his body around. "I am sorry, I couldn't help it, you remind me of someone I know." Clara's mind wondered to Murasakibara and his little mood swings and thinking about the towering giant actually made Clara feel a little lonely, she started to think if he was almost done with his run but was pulled back when Bokuto pointed at the volleyball.

"Mind if we hit that back and forth?" Bokuto suddenly looked a little antsy, he was fidgeting as he stared at the sports ball.

Clara laughed again as she nodded. "Yeah! I have been trying to find a group to play with but…"

"Everyone is filled up." Bokuto finished her sentence as Clara got on her side of the net, the two shared a hearty chuckle. "Well, you got me now." He snickered as he gave her a thumbs up. "I will go easy on you."

However, Clara gave the late teenager a hard look, giving him a shiver. "Please don't go easy on me, I won't get better I my opponent doesn't come at me with his full strength."

Bokuto was a little shocked but that soon turned into a smirk. "Alright, lets see what you got."

Clara smiled brightly and smacked the ball into a serve. "Bring it on!"

"Ah! There you are."

Just as Clara and Bokuto were about to play with each other. They looked over towards where the voice came from and standing at the edge of the court lines was Kuroo, and next to him is a person Clara has not met yet, a young man with narrow eyes and short black hair with a somewhat bored expression on his face.

At the sight of the boy next to Kuroo, Bokuto turned with his back facing them with a pouty look on his face. Akashi sighed as he walked towards the multi-colored hair boy.

"Are you almost done sulking?" Akashi chided as he came to a stop right behind Bokuto.

With fast movements, Bokuto turned his head backwards 180 degrees just like an owl before his body caught up with him, causing Clara to jump back from shock.

"Not until you apologize for not passing the ball to me!" Bokuto shouted, spitting saliva all over his vice-captain.

"I will not because you were not open and you were missing your shots… you would have lost the game for us if I hit it towards you." Akashi's tone of voice was harsh and unemotional as he wipe his face with his shirt to which caused Bokuto to crumble from the harsh reality.

"Akashi! You don't have to be that cruel!" Bokuto whined as he grind his teeth.

Clara watch the two as they bickered back and forth until Kuroo came up to her side.

"Where is your boyfriend?" Kuroo asked as he ignored the two bickering friends, as if he has seen it a hundred times before.

"Boyfriend?" Clara asked gently, with confusion clear on her face.

"That really tall guy with the purple hair?" Kuroo cocked his head to the side, as Clara suddenly turned red. "Ah, so you two are not going out? You two looked so close when you two left."

Clara waves her hands widely. "We're not!" After she said that, Clara suddenly felt a little sad and lonely. "I am sure he doesn't like me in that way… I mean…" Clara did noticed he was treating her kindly than before but Clara figured it was because her talents in the kitchen. "He just doesn't seem to be interested in anything but snack foods…" Clara forced out a little laugh.

Kuroo was about to say something when suddenly Bokuto came out of NOWHERE and drape his arm around Kuroo's shoulder. "Hey we have four people now, let's play double team match." Bokuto's eyes shined brightly at the prospect of playing more volleyball forgetting all about his fight with his vice-captain.

Bokuto took that moment of hesitation from the two and started pushing them on the court. In a matter of seconds, Clara found herself and Bokuto on one side of the net while Kuroo and Akashi were on the other.

Clara couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up inside. "You are a rollercoaster of emotions huh?" Clara looked back at Bokuto who looked at her slightly confused.

"What do you mean?" Bokuto jumped back slightly when Clara burst out laughing. "What?"

"Nothing, it's nice to see others who love to play volleyball as much as I do." Clara pushed the conversation she had with Kuroo at the back of her mind as she concentrated on playing her two on two match with the guys.

~!~

Finally, after a grueling two-hour long run and a trip to the sport's trainer, Murasakibara finally made his way towards the beach, not bothering to take a shower as he couldn't get what Tatsuysa said out of his mind during their run. Moreover, the smug look on that Kuroo guy rubbed him the wrong way, as if he was egging him.

"That guy has a nasty personality…" Murasakibara concluded as he used his shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow.

Murasakibara finally made it back down to the beach, looking high and low for the volleyball fan girl. The giant sighed loudly as he looked up at the clear blue sky. It was hot, it was taking every bit of will power he had to stop him from jumping in the ocean, and he will as soon as he finds Clara. Nevertheless, he dump the rest of his cold water from his water bottle over his head cooling him down instantly. He slicked his hair back as he sighed gently not noticing some of the girls on the beach staring.

Once he was ready, he made his way down to the beach volleyball courts, focused on his search he weaved in and out of the courts looking at each court carefully. Several people gave him looks, from disturb to flirtatious.

"NICE KILL!"

A loud shout broke Murasakibara's focus of his search for Clara. However, it was than he noticed the very person he was looking for was playing an intense volleyball game with three others and to his annoyance, one of them being the guy with the nasty personality, Kuroo.

Murasakibara did not waste time to head over to where the blonde-haired girl was playing and as he got closer Murasakibara could not help but noticed how lively Clara was when she played her sport. It was obvious that this girl loved Volleyball. Without hesitation, Clara would dive for the ball anytime the other team would feint and it looked like it annoyed Kuroo to no end, which brought a smile to the giant's face.

When Clara's teammate got the point after the save, the two shared a double high five, the two laughed and cheered at their achievement. The teammate with the multicolored hair slung his arm around Clara's shoulder as he pulled her a bit closer in a makeshift hug.

When Murasakibara witnessed this Tatsuya's voice blared in his mind.

 _"Keep putting it off…"_

Before Murasakibara could even think or breathe he was already by Clara's side, his hand around her wrist and he started pulling her away. Murasakibara didn't even notice that Clara was talking to him or the fact that Kuroo was holding his friend back from chasing after them.

 _"She will be swept off her feet."_

And Tatsuya's words and voice kept repeating and repeating.

~!~

-New Update-

Hello old readers! As you have noticed the ending is really different form the original one. As I was re-reading and re-reading I didn't care at all for how their first ended up being, it was a nice little cliffhanger but overall I didn't like how it lead in the next chapter. But I hope you would forgive me in my revisions but I am very happy how I have rewritten the ending and all of chapter 16, which most of it is the same except for the beginning to match with the madness of chapter15! either way, I am so happy you were patient with me! And I hope you all like this new version!

-Old Update-

And you guys get to see Bokuto! Yay! If I make a Haikyu! Fanfic it will be about Kōtarō Bokuto, I love him so much… (●/▽/●)

But I don't know yet, what do you think about me making a Haikyu! Fanfic on it's own?

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and I hope you stay tuned for the next one :3 I hope everyone has a great holiday, enjoy spending time with your family and friends! Love ya'll good night!


	16. Chapter 16

Murasakibara didn't know how far or how long he has been walking but he didn't stop until he and Clara were far away from that Owl guy and that nasty Kuroo. The very thought of Clara not looking at him with that excited and fun loving smile drove him to a fit of jealousy that he has never experienced before. When he felt jealous with Midorima and Aomine it wasn't gut wrenching as it was with those other two, maybe it was because he knew Aomine would just find some other poor girl to harass with his affections and Midorima would hear one bad horoscope that would just drive himself away from Clara.

But those two…

"MURASAKIBARA!"

A sharp, stinging pain coarse through Murasakibara's arm that he thought he was seeing stars. Here Clara not only pinched but also twisted his skin sharply. When Murasakibara looked down as Clara pulled her wrist away to cradle it in her other arm, it was very red.

"You were hurting me!" Clara whined. "What has gotten into you?! What was that back there?!" Clara continued to shout. Despite her shouting, Clara looked more annoyed than angry, however that didn't stop Murasakibara feeling like a dirt bag for hurting her, as he cast his gaze down, not looking at her. Clara ceased her shouting when she saw how regretful and sad he looked.

"Hey, what is it?" Clara tried to get Murasakibara to look at her but he kept his gaze down.

"When I saw…And you were…" Murasakibara started but he hesitated.

Clara stood in front him, waiting patiently.

"I couldn't stand him being so…" Murasakibara was having such a hard time trying to gather his words and feelings together that Clara was getting more and more confused by the second.

"Murasakibara, I don't understand… what is it?" Clara tried to get him to look at her. But he kept avoiding her gaze until he abruptly straightens his back, his eyes finally locking on to Clara's eyes. He took a deep breath and in a loud voice.

"Please go out with me!"

Clara felt her mind go blank.

"I like you." Murasakibara said in a firm voice and the sudden confession left Clara speechless for a couple of seconds because she thought she didn't hear correctly.

"Wha- what?" Clara's voice squeaked and cracked.

"I said… I like you…" Murasakibara's amethyst eyes bore into Clara's emerald ones. Clara saw determination and passion in his eyes, something that rarely showed up on his face. Clara tensed when she felt Murasakibara take her free hand with his, still holding on gently but strong. The blush that tinged his cheeks seemed to be contagious because Clara was feeling the heat in her own face. "And… I don't mean I like you just because of your baking and cooking…" Murasakibara said quickly, continuing. "I mean… I like your smile… your energy; when you look like you are having fun, I am having fun to."

Clara kept quite as Murasakibara continued with his confession.

"Whenever I think someone hurting you, seeing you get hurt… I get agitated and want to protect you or when you are sad, I get a feeling I need to hug you until you have calmed down… and when I see you with another guy, smiling, having fun talking to them… I get..."

"Mura…"

Murasakibara interrupted. "I may sound like a kid who doesn't want his favorite snack to be taken away but…" Murasakibara looked at Clara with earnest eyes. "But Clara-chin… please go out with me."

Clara's eyes widen, he didn't call her Cookie, he called her by her actual name. What shocked her again is when she felt his thumb gently stroking the backside of her hand. Clara felt her heart pang, she knew she liked Murasakibara but the shock of his confession left her brain dead. Clara always figured he only saw her as a friend, she admit she noticed there were time she thought he was flirting or made her think he liked her more than just a friend. Nevertheless, the fact he was standing her in front of her spilling his emotions out made the blonde teen tighten her grip on Murasakibara's hands.

However, to Murasakibara it looked like Clara was struggling with answering, making him think she didn't like, LIKE him. Murasakibara felt like someone punched him right in the gut as he watched the girl he liked, stressing over to give him an answer. Murasakibara he looked away, not wanting to meet her gaze. "Don't force yourself... just give me an answer when you are ready..."

Clara snapped out of her reverie when she heard Murasakibara's dejected voice. Clara felt a lump getting stuck in her throat when she felt Murasakibara's grip slacken, when he finally let her hands go, he reached to ruffle her hair like how he always does but when he got mere inches away, he stopped. Which caused a horrible pain in Clara's heart and it intensified when he turned to walk away. As Clara watched Murasakibara leave, she tightly clutched the bit of her shirt over her heart. It was pounding so hard Clara swore anyone in a mile radius would be able to hear it.

But more than anything, when she watched Murasakibara walk away she felt this horrible shadow cast over her, as if someone stole all the warmth in her body. However, what she did feel was the amazing warmth in her hands where Murasakibara was holding very so gently and Clara didn't want to lose that warmness.

Clara didn't know when she started running but by the time, she did realize it she was already embracing Murasakibara's back. The sudden impact nearly knocked the tall young man over and if it were not because he was so tall, he probably would have fallen.

"Cookie?!" Murasakibara twisted his upper half of his body to stare down at Clara who was hugging him for dear life. Clara finally looked up, tears brimming her eyes. Her hands balling his shirt in her hands.

When she finally spoke, her voice cracked with emotions. "I like you too!"

Now it was Murasakibara's turn to be speechless.

"I like the way you call me Cookie! How you ruffle my hair... your smile, the way you talk what is on your mind... how you react to the snacks I bring to you..." Tears started to stream down her face. "And when the very sigh of you leaving I thought my heart was going to collapse. I didn't want you to leave!" Clara started to wipe her tears away. "It just made me realize even more that I…."

A small hiccup interrupted Clara's heart felt confession, which caused her to loosen her grip on his body and in turn gave him an opportunity to turn around to face her fully. Murasakibara felt like he was in a trance, he felt as if he had no control over his body as his arms slowly encircle Clara's body. Clara didn't seem to notice how close they were getting; it was as if they were naturally pulling each other in like magnets. After sniffling and wiping a few tears away, Clara finally recovered long enough to finish.

"I like you too..." Clara sniffled again as she smile softly up at Murasakibara.

Murasakibara gently help wipe away her anymore fallen tears before he pulled Clara into a tight embrace, her face buried into his lower chest, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist, hugging him back with her fingers gripping his shirt tightly to pull him in towards her more. They pulled away slowly and when they looked at each other again, Murasakibara's giant hand cup Clara's face wiping what looks like one last tear that has escaped. The touch made Clara lean into his hand with a small smile on her face.

The sight of Clara's smile has Murasakibara leaning slowly down, his eyes zoned in on her pink lips in a daze. Murasakibara felt Clara's hands are now gripping the front of his shirt nearly pulling him down a little faster as she started to move on her tippy toes to meet him half way and that just gave Murasakibara more confidence in what he was doing. As they got ever closer, the hand that was once on Clara's cheek now traveled to the back of her neck to help cradle her for the angle of their first kiss. Both teenager's eyes closed just as their lips finally touched. The action sent a tingle through both of their bodies. Murasakibara had a smile on his lips as he made some small peck here and there on her lips, which caused Clara to laugh. Soon the small pecks turned into another longer one.

It seemed natural. It FELT natural that they were kissing. Clara's lips felt like fluffy feathers to the giant as he craned his head to the side to try to go at her lips in a different kind of angle and it made their kiss even deeper. However, Murasakibara felt patting on his chest the feeling made him end the kiss that he wished would have lasted a little longer but Clara's lungs didn't feel the same as she gasped for breath. Her cheeks bright red as she stared up at Murasakibara, also red in the face. Once again, the two chuckled shyly at one another. Murasakibara leaned down again for another taste…however.

It was than he noticed that both he and Clara had an audience around them. Mother covering their children's innocent eyes, while older children were mocking with fish kissy lips. Teenagers were giggling here and there while more adults were either shocked at the public display of affection or they were giving the newly formed couple some thumbs up. Murasakibara's face turned completely red at this point, he never really like the attention, which was always Aomine and Kise's specialty. Murasakibara quickly took hold of Clara's hand to get away from the crowd but just as he turned to walk away.

 _ **Grumble, gurgle, grumble!**_

Murasakibara finally remembered that once practice was over he left to go find Clara that he skipped to get something to eat and THAN having to deal with the fit of jealousy and finally get all the feelings and emotions out and now that it was all over, his body was now screaming in rage for sustenance.

"Phfft…"

Murasakibara thought he heard something and sure enough when he turned his attention to Clara, she was fighting back her laughter by covering her mouth but when she saw Murasakibara was looking, she quickly looked away as her body shook. Murasakibara blushed heavily as he covered his stomach with a hand, like doing that would prevent anymore sound to emit. However, it proved fruitless as Murasakibara's stomach rage in hunger again and that pushed Clara over the edge as she started laughing.

An embarrassed Murasakibara pinched her cheek before walking ahead of her. "Ahaha! Sorry, sorry!" Clara cried out in an apology, as the giant pouted still walking ahead of the blonde but he stopped dead when he felt Clara's hand entwined with his own.

"Come on; let's see if we can get anything to eat on our way back."

Murasakibara looked at their hands linked together and finally with a smile he and Clara take off to what Clara will always remember in years to come was the day of Bottomless Stomach Pit fiasco.

~!~

The setting sun illuminated the resort beautifully that Tatsuya couldn't help but borrow a basketball from the gym to just dribble the ball for fun, but soon that turned into him doing laps around the resort. Tatsuya so far could only do three laps, as the resort was at least a mile and a half wide with several buildings connected to each other. Every lap was different, one lap he would do nothing but leg cross dribbling and then another would be just a single hand dribbling with a switch to the other hand every so often. Once Tatsuya turned a corner he stopped to take a short break to wipe the dripping sweat off his face, he sighed. Here he was going to just enjoy the scenery and dribble the ball but it turned into a basketball dribbling drill. As Tatsuya stretched his back he looked up at the pinkish red sky, it was a good atmosphere to be mobile. He chuckled when he could hear his old coach Alex telling him to get a girlfriend to enjoy evenings like this.

A soft summer breeze cooled Tatsuya down in a mere seconds and it just felt all around amazing. Once he felt like he has cooled off, he got ready to make his way back to his room and that is when he saw it, a sight he couldn't believe was walking towards him. A couple of teens were making their way back towards him their jovial voices reached his ears.

Murasakibara and Clara were both smiling and laughing together but what made Tatsuya drop his ball and jump into a bush next him was the fact that they were holding hands... LACED together! The display made Tatsuya baffled as questions just riddled his mind about what happened, but only a few questions mattered! Why are they holding hands? What did it MEAN? Are they going out?! Tatsuya's curiosity got the better of him as he went into detective mode, sneaked along with them as they caught up to him. The twosome were still smiling and laughing softly to one another.

"That was pretty good, I didn't think I would like octopus fritters." Tatsuya heard Clara speaking beside Murasakibara, he watched as she wrap an arm around the giant's waist to get a little more closer to him to which Murasakibara put an arm around Clara's shoulder and someone they still found a way to hold hands, the sight was just almost too unreal for Tatsuya.

"Mmm, the fritters were good but the dumplings are better." Despite the lack of emotion in Murasakibara's voice, he had a soft smile on her face as he licked his lips to get any extra sauce that didn't make into his mouth. After another step, Murasakibara paused in his walk with Clara and because Murasakibara had a nice hold on her hand, she fell back towards the giant, holding her closely. The sudden shift made Clara's rest her cheek against his chest, making her giggle as she looked up at him. Tatsuya's eyes widen even further from how the two looked at each other, you swore you could see hearts springing forth from their bodies. It was then that Tatsuya noticed the two were inching close together, their faces getting very closer.

"Whoa!" Tatsuya couldn't take what he was about to witness so he made himself known to his friends.

Murasakibara and Clara jumped away from the bush and from each other when Tatsuya appeared out of nowhere, leaving the newly formed couple blushing madly. Soon embaressment went to anger as Murasakibara started to give his teammate an earful on about minding his own damn business, while Clara, who was still blushing like a tomato, kept silent; too shocked to say anything.

After the two friends calmed down and the whole thing explained, meaning Clara came to the rescue to pull Murasakibara away from hurting Tatsuya while SHE explained how their relationship became to be.

Tatsuya has a bright smile on his face as he smoothed down his hair after Murasakibara was kind enough to let go. "I am happy for you two, I was beginning to wonder if either of you figured out that you liked each other, it was kind of bothersome with you two flirting all the time..."

"We did no such thing!" Murasakibara growled, he turned his back to his friend, grasping Clara's hand and began to drag her away, "Let's go, Clara-chin."

Tatsuya was once again surprised; instead of calling her by her nickname, Murasakibara was now using her first name. Tatsuya felt a little teary but he brushed it off with a chuckle as he watched the two walk away with his arms crossed. "The team is going to flip..." Tatsuya chuckled as he started to follow his friends.

~!~

Several hours later Clara made her way towards the swimming pool that was inside the resort, however as she made her way, Clara found a beautiful garden surrounded by the massive buildings. There's a pond, several trees, a couple of shrubs and benches. Little frogs and crickets sang into the night while fire flies laminating different parts of the oasis. As the moon continued to raise high in the sky, Clara noticed the small summer breeze brought along a wonderful smell of the trees and grass, it was the very aroma of what summer should smell like. Captivated by the sight and smell, Clara laid herself down in the grass, looking up at the sky while taking a deep breath in. This was the perfect kind of night for a moon viewing party. Clara gasped when she looked up at the sky to witness a shooting star. The blonde-haired person closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and made a wish. Once done she opened her eyes.

The instead of seeing twinkling stars Clara saw amethyst eyes. Clara jumped from the surprise attack thankfully she was able to keep her impending scream in check as all that came out of her mouth was a gasp. Clara relaxed back in the grass as she sighed with a groan.

"That was not nice!" Clara tried to make her voice mad but it didn't help that a laugh escaped her lips.

Murasakibara chuckled, as he remained standing. "What are you doing Clara-chin? Thought we were going to go swimming?"

"But the night life called to me." Clara giggled as she started to sit up. "But swimming does sound nice after a long day." With the help of Murasakibara, Clara got back to her feet and the two Yōsen students made their way towards the pool.

As the twosome entered in the pool area the smell of chlorine drifted into their nostrils, Clara took a deep breath before running towards the pool to do a cannon ball. Despite her size, she was able to make quite a splash; she came up smoothing her hair back. She sighed as she leaned back against the water surface, floating around. After a minute, another sigh escaped her lips.

"This is so nice; don't you think... huh Murasakibara?" Clara looked up from her laying position in the water to look at Murasakibara only to find that she was alone. Clara stood in the water looking around; the room was quite except for the sound of the machines that helped filter the pool water. The blonde-haired person looked around her, trying to find some sign of Murasakibara. Clara swimmer towards the edge of the pool still looking around. "Murasakibara?"

Clara started to climb out of the pool to go and look for her companion but she didn't get far as she felt arms wrap around her waist and pull her back against something firm and warm, making the girl jump and squeak in whoever had her in their grasp! Clara looked back and sighed.

"Don't scare me like that! I thought you had drowned for a second!" Clara sighed as she laid her head back against Murasakibara who had a wide, teasing grin on his face.

"But it was worth it, the look you made was funny." The giant snickered as he laid his chin on her shoulder, causing the girl to be aware of their situation, she blushed heavily as she tried to wiggle out of her position but that only made Murasakibara tighten his grip. "Please... let me hold you a little longer..." After a few seconds, Clara nodded softly. Clara could feel Murasakibara smile as he leaned his head against Clara nuzzling her. Clara tried to relax in his arms but close proximity made Clara's heart race a mile a minute.

'Ahhh... my heart is going to beat out of my chest... he is going to hear it...' Clara screamed to herself as she shut her eyes. Clara could feeling Murasakibara's own heart beating widely in his chest. He must be just as nervous as she was that thought alone made Clara relax more. As much as she was feeling nervous, she didn't want to make Murasakibara feel bad that he was making her nervous. As Clara calmed down, so did Murasakibara.

Clara closed her eyes as she leaned back against Murasakibara's shoulder, now enjoying his warm embrace. Clara than felt Murasakibara lean back away, the movement caused Clara to look up at him.

"Mn!" Clara's eyes widen when Murasakibara kissed her softly on the lips. The display of affection made Clara's eyes close gently, leaning into their kiss.

Murasakibara pulled softly away. Clara looked up to see his purple eyes were twinkling just as much as the stars were that night.

"Clara-chin?"

Clara's felt warm and fuzzy when he called her by her name, a cute smile plastered on her face. "Hmm?"

Murasakibara smiled down at Clara, making her smile more up at him. Then, unexpectedly, Murasakibara submerged himself and Clara under the water. During the dunk, Murasakibara lets Clara go so she could break the water surface first. Clara gasped, pushing any strands of hair out of her face. Murasakibara only made his eyes water level so he could stare at Clara. The blonde teen was laughing as she spun around.

"That was a dirty trick!" Clara splashed the giant's face causing a laugh to bubble out of Murasakibara as he began to splash back at Clara.

The two continued to splash each other, trying to outdo the other, however because of Murasakibara's size he won by default. One splash was him spreading his arms out and causing a massive tidal wave to form around Clara, who ducked her face under her arms to block water out of her face. But that left her open for Murasakibara to pick her up and throw her towards the deep end. The blonde-haired person broke the surface laughing. She squeaked when she saw Murasakibara making his way towards her, like a shark hunting down his prey. Clara spun on her stomach to swim towards the edge. Her heart raced from the adrenaline, causing her to laugh while panicking to escape.

"AH HA!" Clara was just fast enough to make it out of the pool just as Murasakibara made a move to snatch her. "I am too fast for you!" She held out a peace sign in front of Murasakibara.

"Come closer and say that." Murasakibara rest his chin on his crossed arms on top of the pool's edge; however, that made Clara back away laughing.

"Ohhh no!" Clara shook her head, still laughing. "I don't get tricked so easily!"

"But..." Murasakibara's voice went soft, his eyes going big and with a pout. "I feel lonely."

Clara's eyes went white, her face flushing, as she felt a pang in her heart. The blonde-haired person turned her back on Murasakibara. 'T... too cute!' Clara cupped her face. Suddenly Clara felt a presence behind her. Because Clara was distracted. Murasakibara's childish yet cute pout opened Clara up for him to snatch her back and toss her in the pool. Clara squealed as she went flying.

Once she broke surface she laughed so hard her cheeks were starting to hurt. Clara pushed some hair from her face, slicking it back, and still laughing as she opened her eyes, Murasakibara's chest filled her vision. Murasakibara's suddenly appearance didn't stop Clara from laughing as she looked up at him. Murasakibara also stared right back at her with a smile of his own. After a moment, Clara stopped laughing but they still smiled at each other. Than like magnets, they hugged each other. Clara laid her head against Murasakibara's chest as she hugged him tighter and he did the same.

Clara smirked evilly as she unexpectedly put her weight against Murasakibara and actually pushed him down into the water when he was preoccupied by the hug. Clara also went underwater but that didn't stop her from laughing as she broke surface and jammed her fist in the air. Murasakibara resurfaced as well.

"Got you back!" Clara laughed as she boop Murasakibara on the nose.

"Hey!

Clara and Murasakibara jumped as they both stared at the entrance to the pool; there standing in their own bathing suits was the rest of the Yōsen basketball team. Tatsuya was in the lead with his arms cross.

"You two should have told us you were going to go swimming!" One of the players shouted.

"Yeah! Just because you have a girlfriend now doesn't mean you can't invite us for swim time!" Another player did a wolf whistle, causing Clara to blush madly while Murasakibara started yelling at Tatsuya for spilling the beans on his relationship with Clara but soon enough everyone was in the pool having a fun time. Several played Marco-Polo, while others tried to see who could do the biggest cannon ball splash and the rest relaxed.

Clara was sitting on the edge of the pool laughing as she watched Murasakibara win the cannon ball contest, the look on everyone's face from the colossus wave nearly made Clara choke on her laughter but it was short lived when everyone else splashed at her, making her squeal and raise her hands up to protect herself.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

The Yōsen basketball team stopped their splashing assault on Clara and turned to the new voice. Clara looked up and gasped out.

"Whoa! Hey you guys!" Clara waved as she spotted not only Kenma, Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi. It also seemed a parts of their volleyball team was with them as well. "I didn't know you guys stayed here too! And you brought and army!" Clara laughed.

A teenager with a blonde puffy mohawk glared daggers at every individual basketball player in the pool, Clara would later find out his name is Taketora Yamamoto. "What are you bastards doing ganging up on a girl, damn it!"

Soon it was Volleyball Teams vs Basketball Team in various different little contests. Throughout the time, they were there Murasakibara kept close to Clara when she was talking with Kuroo and Bokuto. Kenma was at a table playing on his Gameboy and Clara was going to have none of it! The blonde sprang into action by dragging him over to the pool for a game of shark but it seemed it was for naught because Kenma would be caught every time a new game began so he could sit out and every time he was caught, Kuroo would yell at his childhood friend. Bokuto was relaxing at the edge of a pool, talking to a black hair girl with a streak of red dyed on a large portion of her hair, the two seemed close.

After a while, Clara sat down on the edge of the pool to take a breather. Murasakibara came over but instead of sitting next to Clara he remained in the pool and nestled himself between her legs, his back was against the pool wall but his head rest against her shoulder. Clara giggled. "Having fun?"

"Would be better if your volleyball friends would leave..." He grumbled causing Clara to laugh.

"Admit it, it's fun having them around." Clara wrapped her arms around Murasakibara's neck but all Clara got in a response was a shoulder shrug but there was a tiny smile that cracked out of her new boyfriend's lips.

Clara smiled gently as she nuzzled her face against Murasakibara's cheek. "So far, this is the best summer I've ever had..." Clara turned her head to the side to kissed Murasakibara's cheek, causing the giant's teammates to start teasing their ace all over again. Murasakibara glared at his team as he broke away from Clara with a bright blush but instead of just going off to reek havoc he turned around and hugged Clara around the waist, the team gapped as they began to hoot and shout out the two should get a room. Clara could only giggle and laugh gently pet the top of his purple hair.

~!~

-New Update-

ALRIGHT! Chapter 16 is officially re-written! I am very happy how it turned out for Mursakibara and Clara at this point, their reactions to me seemed more natural than a accidental kiss that was actually a dream sequence. Nah, that was too much for me to keep but I like this one better because we get to see Murasakibara being a bit more honest and I especially loved Clara's reaction, I did originally wanted it so she would have to think about her feelings but re-reading the other chapters you figured she knew her own feelings but could never act upon them because she didn't want to ruin the friendship she has with Murasakibara but it turned out he liked her to WHOOO!

I just want to say thank you to the fans of this fanfic for being so patient with and also I want to apologize that it has taken this long for me to update my revisions. I hope ya'll can forgive me!

I will have the revisions for Chapter 17 done soon! Have a great weekend ya'll!

Bunni


	17. Chapter 17

"This one is for you, Inari!"

Clara kicked up sand as she ran towards the net, she braced her legs ready for a jump just at the right moment. The ball seemed to fit perfectly in Clara's hand as it curved with the ball, she smacked it straight down, in between Tatsuya's hands when he jumped to attempted to block. Tatsuya pat his head down laughing.

"I think my hair is on fire." Tatsuya chuckled as Clara smacked Bokuto's hands in a high five, laughing with a tinge of blush on her cheeks.

"You improved Inari!" Bokuto laughed loudly, smacking her back hard.

"Ahhh! You made your point!" Clara laughed as she moved away from the assault.

Tatsuya flopped on the sand as he watched Clara and Bokuto talk about volleyball, the Fukurōdani boy was still giving the blonde tips. Bokuto showed Clara how he could angle his arm to do a cross spike but making it look like she is about to do a straight. Clara's eyes went wide in admiration Tatsuya swore he saw her emerald eyes were sparkling.

Tatsuya suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine, he looked back and saw a calm yet ticked off Murasakibara, with popsicle in his mouth, staring at the two volleyball geeks. However, when Clara saw Murasakibara she smiled more brightly than the hot afternoon sun. She ran over and stood in front of her boyfriend and with wide enthusiastic gestures she started to explain what Bokuto taught her.

Tatsuya walked over to Bokuto who was taking a swig of water and talking with his friend Akaashi. Akaashi pointed with his head towards Tatsuya. Bokuto turned smile a smile.

"Thanks for helping with practice." Bokuto smirks as he tosses the empty water bottle into a recycling bin. "Though it would've been better if the bigger guy did the blocking." Bokuto pat a finger to his lips. "Why didn't he come until now?"

"Coach brought a trainer with us and he examines Murasakibara every other day, to check on him because of his Gigantism." Tatsuya explained but only got confused looks from Bokuto and Akaashi. "Murasakibara is going to be 17 this fall and he is already 208 centimeters tall and him growing this fast may cause a lot of health problems in the future so the trainer is keeping an eye on his heart and bone structure."

Bokuto made an o-face while Akaashi just arched an eyebrow when Tatsuya explained his friends' situation. Bokuto sighed as he put his hands on his hips.

"Being that tall is a blessing but a curse, huh?" Akaashi mumbled. "I wonder if Lev is getting checked out every so often."

"Lev?" It was Tatsuya's turn to ask a question.

"He is from Nekoma High, you met him that night at the pool, both he and your friend were measuring each other." Akaashi explained.

Tatsuya than recalled seeing a boy close in height with Murasakibara at the pool with silvery grey hair and sharp blue eyes.

"I remember, man and I thought Atsushi would be the only one to reach that height." Tatsuya chuckled as he looked back towards his friend.

~!~

While the three were talking Clara and Murasakibara were in their own little world. Clara had a blush on her cheeks as she stared up at her boyfriend, explaining all the things she learned not too long ago and the skills she honed as well. Clara made a pump action with her arms in the same manner at as Bokuto when he got excited.

Murasakibara smiles gently down at Clara as she explained but when she finished she looked up at him with a look of mild concern.

"How did everything go with the trainer?" Murasakibara found out after Clara made up with her brother, Toya, she wanted to become a trainer to help athletes with injuries like her brother went through.

"It went as expected." Murasakibara yawned. "They ran some tests on my heart… and they took some blood too…" Murasakibara pouted as he showed the gauze bandage on his left arm.

Clara giggled as she hugged his waist, nuzzling her cheek in his chest, while rubbing his back. "Does this make up for it?"

"It's a start." The giant mumbled as he hugged her back.

In the amidst of their hug, Murasakibara shifted his gaze up to see the trio were trying to secretly make fun of their little affection, or at least Bokuto was, Tatsuya just had a small smile on his face while Akaashi was just calm as he watched his teammate. Murasakibara felt embarrassed but some reason the warm girl in his embrace seemed to make him forget. Suddenly, Murasakibara got a mischievous smirk on his face. He freed one of his hands and guide it to Clara's chin, making her look up at him. The blonde teen tilts her head up than to the side.

Just as Clara was about to question his actions, Murasakibara planted a small peck on her lips, leaving the girl blushing and a small smile on her face, breaking away from Murasakibara's embrace. Murasakibara looked up to see Tatsuya chuckling at Bokuto made a disgust like sound before he and Akaashi left.

"We have to get back to the others! Later Inari!" Bokuto yelled back at a blushing Clara who gently waved them off.

Tatsuya walked over as he checked his watch. "We have to leave to Atsushi, we have to go running with the others now."

Murasakibara pouted, refusing to head back to practice but with a little help from Clara, Tatsuya was able to convince the giant to come back to practice. Clara waved the two off as she promised she wait there and have an icee ready.

After watching the two disappear, Clara went back to the net and started to bounce the ball back and forth, making sure the ball doesn't hit the ground as she ducks under the net. After a minute Clara started to slow down but still able to keep the ball going. After another minute Clara sat down in the sand and sighed as she chugs some water.

Clara got back up again and started to just bump the ball, shuffling from side to side. Clara dropped the ball when she heard laughing behind her. Clara turned her attention and saw three girls. All three were pretty little things, their hair styled with heavy make up on. Clara arched her eyebrow at them before turning her back on them, causing the three girls to go up to Clara.

"Why you playing by yourself?" One girl snickered.

"Oh don't tease like that Haru-chan, poor dear probably doesn't have friends." Another laughed.

Clara felt agitated but she didn't let that show on her face, that would only give those three more pleasure out of their bulling. As the three continued on their rant, Clara just notice two more girls were heading her way, their eyes fixed on Clara.

'What the… Is this back up or something?'

Clara than stood up straight and turned to the three girls, but just as Clara was going to address them she made a sharp gasp putting her hand to her heart laughing. "Oh, I am sorry, I've mistaken your make up for a Halloween mask!"

The three girls looked at Clara in shock, like it was the first time they heard that insult.

"But don't worry, I am sure that 'tan' of yours will help you blend into the sand so others won't see you." Clara smiled as she tried to make her away from the three but she was stopped by a sharp pain in her arm when one of the girls took a tight hold of it.

"Want to say that again, bitch?" One girl said anger.

Clara however didn't back down, she even straightens her back even more so, staring at the girl, "Gladly, do you use a brush for make up or do you just dip your face?" Clara turned her attention to her side and saw that the back up just arrived but she saw the three girls with the heavy make up stare at the newcomers with questionable annoyed looks.

"Keep walking ladies, nothing to see here, gotta teach someone respect." One girl said with a smirk as she made a shoo gesture with her hand.

"Respect? You came up to me and decided to be assholes to me!" Clara broke the girl's grip on her arm, glaring at them.

Either way the newcomers didn't budge to leave as they stare at the three bullies. One of the girls is Clara's height while the other 160 centimeters; give or take. The girl who shares the same height as Clara wore her brown hair in a simple yet messy bun and her face? Looked like someone stepped on her foot because she had an angry look on her face. The shortest girl out of the duo has a clearly dyed red pixie hair cut because her eyebrows were pitch black, she wore a smile that narrowed like a fox grin; she blew a pink bubble until it popped. Her smile never leaving. Clara couldn't help but feel like she has met them before.

The girl with the messy bun cocked her head to the side and glared dangerously at the three, "Huuhhh? Jun, I think this clown tried to talk to me… I am sorry I don't speak Clown… can you go and wash your face before addressing to me?"

The three girls that held Clara hostage at the moment were left speechless and stuttering.

"Now, now Himawari!" The shortest girl said with a sweet voice and sly grin. "If ya talk to them your IQ will lower… now!" The girl clapped her hands together. "…if you excus' us, we gonna take our friend here an' be off, we're gonna play some volleyball."

Clara sees Jun gesturing her to follow, Clara certainly didn't want to stay near these three dimwits so she went ahead to follow, only to stop and glare at one of the girls when she scoffed.

"Pfffttt, you play volleyball?" The three girls laughed in a high pitch shrill. "Aren't you a little 'short' to play volleyball?"

Jun stopped in her tracks, not looking back, Himawari on the other hand shook her head with a sigh, stepping away from Jun as the girl turned around. A sweet smile graced her lips, leaving the three speechless a bit.

"If ya feel that way, why not play a few rounds?" Jun continues to smile sweetly, giving Clara an uncomfortable feeling. "Won' be too much trouble for ya, since ya clearly taller and better than us."

"Speak for yourself." Himawari mumbled next to Clara.

Clara screamed internally, begging for the three girls to apologize. The blond girl couldn't quite explain fully but Jun reminded Clara of her mother when she gets pissed! She would first act all sweet to lower your guard than **BAM**! You are grounded with a welt on your behind!

The three girls smirked on, not sensing the danger. "Fine, it would be fun to smack that smile off your face." The three girls walked past Clara and the others as they got the opposite side of the net.

Clara looked between the two. "Umm…"

Jun looked at Clara. It happened in an instant, Clara could feel the fires of rage seeping out of Jun's body. "Wanna play, curly top?"

Even though Jun was pissed off, Clara couldn't help but feel like Jun was happy she was gonna play a match, though Clara couldn't help but feel like it this was going to be a bit one sided, not because Clara was on Jun and Homeware's team but because Clara felt like these two knew how to play volleyball!

"I thought this before but have I met you two before?" Clara questioned when the two girls walked off to their side of the net.

"Once the game is over we'll chat… but first…" Jun smacked her fist to her palm, the force actually made her short hair ruffle.

Himawari cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders. "Finally, some movement…"

Again, Clara couldn't explain it but she felt excited seeing these two fired up. Clara quickly joined them. Jun was barking out orders and Clara followed them to a tee. Clara stood in the back, while the other two took the front, causing the three girls to laugh at Jun once again.

"Hey, Inari!"

Clara jumped when she heard her named being called, she looked to Himawari who was glaring at her. Clara gulped was she gonna threaten her? Is she going to kick her ass if she lets the ball drop?! Clara waited with bated breath as she stared at the other teen.

"Jun is too pissed off right now so be the setter and we will spike them down to the ground." Himawari said with a bit of bite in her voice.

However, despite that, Clara had to question if this Himawari is being mean personality wise or just has the bad misfortune to be taken like she does. Either way, Clara didn't feel any animosity for or from her.

"Okay, you got it!" Clara got into a stance at the opponents went to serve first.

"How about the first to three points wins?" The girl with the ball giggled, acting like she and her cronies won the game already but Clara and her temporary team ignored the taunt as they put on their guard.

Clara looked down and noticed Jun was making a hand sign. Clara's eyes widen while Himawari groaned, her arms going limp.

The girl served, it was a good serve because it went over the net but hardly a challenge to receive it. Clara moved to the side to receive the ball but she missed! The ball splattered sand everywhere. The three girls squealed as they gained the point and started to rain down more insults. But, Clara didn't feel mad that she missed, she only felt… confusion!

Jun used a universal signal for Clara to miss the receive. Still feeling confused Jun turned around and gave Clara an 'okay' sign with a big smile but that sign turned into the same hand signal to miss but this time it was Himawari to miss the receive. Jun suddenly sighed and put her arm over her forehead, she looked like she was about to faint!

"Oh no… what ever shall we do?" Jun went over to Himawari and hung on her, looking at her friend with sad eyes. "This is dreadful Hima-chan!"

Himawari snapped as she knocked Jun away from her and stepped on her arm to grind down. Himawari was yelling and screaming down at the other girl that it almost made Clara question their friendship however both girls were actually laughing.

"Seriously?! Who is dumb enough to believe those crocodile tears!" Himawari shouted but she looked over at their opponents and smirked for the first time that day.

"Aww but look, they seem sooo happy!" Jun laughed as she got back up from the ground, once she was back on her feet, Jun looked to Clara with a smile that made a shiver run down the blonde's back. "Go all out now, Inari…"

Clara felt like she went into a daze as she nodded. Clara had a hunch but now it was a definite confirmation; Jun and Himawari both were not to be trifled with when it came to volleyball. They made be so good that they're willing to sacrifice a few points! But why? Is it to put their opponent in such an arrogant state so they could just blow them out of the water?

The same girl as before made her third serve, she had a confidant smirk on her lip as it soared past the net. Clara felt sharp as she glides to her right and receives the ball perfectly.

Himawari moved underneath the ball and made a toss in the air. Himawari looked to Clara and snapped. "Get the damn spike, Blondie!"

Clara jumped in fright but recovered fast as she sprints towards the net, she eyed the ball that seemed to float in midair like it was waiting for Clara to smack it down… and she wasn't going to disappoint it! Clara jumped high in the air, back arched, her dominant arm and hand swinging back, she barely noticed that two of the girls closest to the net jumped for the block but they were no volleyball players so they were nothing to her! Clara's palm found the perfect spot on that smooth surface of the ball. The ball made a beeline toward the ground, the force was so great that it kicked up and smacked right into one of the girl's gut, making her gasp.

Clara lands on the ground, her eyes never once leaving the shocked faces of the three girls on the other side of the net, after another beat Clara looked to her flushed palm the sensation still there. Clara smiles brightly as she jumped in the air.

"That was amazing!" Clara exclaimed as she turned to Himawari, however the teen didn't share the same enthusiasm, Clara started to sweat when the girl came over to her. "Wha…"

"Not bad…" Himawari pat Clara on the shoulder. "Next time I will try lowering it… let me know which is more comfortable for you."

Clara was left in a daze as Himawari went to serve.

"HEY! Get your ass back at the net!" Himawari shouted towards Clara, making the blonde squeak in fright before doing what she was told to do.

After that, Clara, Himawari and Jun pretty much dominated the cocky girls. Jun had an evil fox like grin as she watched the three squirm begging to keep their precious make up on. Jun laughed as she let the three go, which they took off like a bullet. Clara sighed as she took a swig of water while watching the three escape.

Himawari was stretching her arms and legs, making a few of her joint pop, she even cracked her knuckles. Jun returned and gave a little fist bump with her friend. Clara smiled at the two and went over to them.

"Thanks for sticking your necks out for a complete stranger, you don't really see that now-a-days." Clara laughed.

Jun giggled as she pointed at Himawari, "Actually, it was all Hima-chan's idea!"

Himawari blushed as she pushed her friend away but that didn't stop the girl from blabbing, "She saw ya havin' troubles with those little bimbos and thought ya needed help."

Himawari looked away, blushing lightly, "It's not because…" Himawari started making some excuse why she really came to help but the fact that she and Jun still came over to help Clara made the blonde feel all warm and fuzzy.

"I never got to introduce myself, I am…"

"Clara Inari… freshmen, tried out for the volleyball team but got shut out because of a full roster." Jun said with a sly smirk on her pretty face. Clara looked at her dumbfounded.

"How?" Clara than remembered that the two calling her by her last name as well, even though she never said what her name was. "Who are you two?"

Jun pointed at her self and bowed dramatically. "Jun Watari, vice captain of the Yōsen Girls Volleyball Team."

Clara's mouth dropped.

Himawari had her arms crossed, "Himawari Tadashi, ace of Yōsen Girls Volleyball team."

Clara felt her world spinning as she was face to face with the team's best players. Clara's body started to shake as she tried to speak but unfortunately her words decided to evade her.

Jun laughed lightly as she put hand on Clara's shoulder. "I remembered ya coming in to practice after school, Inari…"

Clara's memories of her attempt to join the volleyball club came flooding back the pain of rejection washed over the blonde, making her depressed.

"Yeah… still hurts, I just really wanted show what I could do and…" Clara sighed but she gained a smile on her face. "But I should be able to join in my second year right? So it will work…"

"No…"

Clara stopped when Himawari stared down at her with a glare. "I will talk to the advisor and see if we can get you on board."

Clara didn't think her mouth could drop any more to the ground than it already did that day.

"What?"

"The advisor of the team is my grandfather and the coach always listens to him so if I can convince my grandpa to get you to at least try out you might be able to join before the tournament."

Clara's eyes watered, she bit her lip to hold back a sob. "S…Seriously?"

Jun smirked as she put an arm around Clara's shoulder. "Hell yeah! From what I've seen this past week and half ya been down here workin' your ass off and getting' pointers from some of the best teams in the nation!"

Clara looked confused. "Best teams?"

Jun's eyes widen in shock but Himawari was on a whole new level of surprise. "Are ya serious!?" Himawari brought out her phone and showed a few pictures.

"Hey! That's Bokuto… and there is Kuroo and Kenma…" Clara laughed as she saw in a picture Kenma was on his phone and Kuroo yelling at him.

"Kotaro Bokuto is the captain and ace of Fukurōdani Academy! He is in the top five in spikers… and these two are apart of Nekoma, they are climbing to be one of the best teams again and you SERIOUSLY had no idea who they were?!"

Clara shook her head. "I… don't really pay attention to the bigger players and my team in elementary school could afford to go to tournaments…" Clara blushed heavily.

Himawari sighed, shaking her head in defeat. "I can't believe it…" She sighed again. "Anyways! From what we and the captain saw, you at least deserve a chance to join…"

Clara squealed in delight as she hugged Himawari who was now desperately trying to get Clara off her, Jun on the other hand went in for a hug too which blocked Himawari's last chance of escape. Himawari sighed in defeat, Clara looked up and gasped when she caught Himawari smiling, seeing she has been caught Himawari finally knocked the two back away from her; blushing madly.

"Hey! As a way of 'congratulations'. Let's keep playin'!" Jun shouts out causing Clara to jump in the air shouting, once she landed Clara went straight for the volleyball and did an underhand serve.

"First person to drop the ball has to buy the other two icees." Clara laughed when she saw Himawari's eyes sparkle, so Himawari's weakness is food, Clara made a note to remember just in case she needed to make anything to help calm the ravaging beast if she were to join the team!

Jun on the other hand shook her head. "I rather have a smoothie! But I will take that bet!"

So for the next hour, Clara, Jun and Himawari bumped the ball back and forth, they even tried different ways to get the other person out of the competition. In the end it was Jun who was paying for the drinks, the vixen pouted as she brought out her little coin purse. The three enjoyed their icee until Clara noticed Murasakibara coming back down to the beach.

Clara's eyes brighten up more as she got up to head over towards her boyfriend. But she turned and wave towards her new found friends, "Thank you again! I will see you back at school!"

Clara once again made her way towards Murasakibara who had sweat dripping off the tips of his hair, Clara gapped at his state of exhaustion. Clara giggled as she took his sweaty palm and led him towards the shop where she got him an extra large icee. The giant smiled happily, sipping away on his delicious yet thirst quenching desires.

Soon the two made their way over towards a shady area and sat down, the two talked about what happened to them in the past few hours. Murasakibara was happy in his own… bored way that Clara might be able to finally join the volleyball team and Clara got a good laugh after Murasakibara told her how Tatsuya some how tricked Murasakibara to eat his least favorite foods, which caused the giant to grasp Clara's head to ruffle her hair.

As the two made their way back to the resort, Clara noticed a few basketball courts and pointed towards them but the look on Murasakibara's face nearly knocked Clara over she was laughing so hard. Which in turn resulted her head to be trapped by his hand again, but despite looking a little pale at seeing the courts, Murasakibara made his way over, he looked down towards Clara who was trailing behind him.

"Wanna play?" Murasakibara pointed towards some public used balls inside the court.

Clara winked as she started sprinting. "Last one to 5 baskets has to do whatever the winner wants!"

Murasakibara's eyes sparkled. "Game on, Clara-chin!"

Not even five minutes went by when Murasakibara made the winning shot, he took hold of the basketball that bounced off the ground, he looked towards Clara who is on her hands and knees she looked up and yelled while laughing.

"Oh come on! I almost had you!" Clara continued to laugh until Murasakibara kneeled in front of her and took a hold of her chin to make her look up at him gently. Clara's eyes widen as she looked into his violet eyes. The violet giant looked absolutely serious as he stared into Clara's emerald pools.

The intensity in his gaze started to make Clara shake, she did say the loser do whatever the winner wants, what… what does he want her to do?!

"Clara-chin…" Murasakibara's voice was unusually husky, his thumb gently strokes her jaw line.

"Y-y-yeah?" Clara couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Can you…?" Murasakibara started, leaving a gap in-between sentences.

"C-c-can I…w-what?" Clara stuttered, not once her eyes leaving his his.

"Bake your chocolate chip cookies?" Murasakibara's narrowed in a dream like daze as he stared off into the distance, a line of drool on his chin. "I haven't had your cookies in almost two weeks…"

Clara's eyes went all beady as she stared up at him, Murasakibara tilt his head to the side as she remained silent but after another moment she started laughing.

"Well, let's ask the proprietress if I can use their kitchen, if we can we can go and buy ingredients than." Clara smiles warmly up at Murasakibara.

Just as Clara started to get up, Murasakibara pulled her into a hug to give her a peck on the lips, he too smiled gently down at her. Clara blushed gently and bashfully hides her face in his chest, still not used to kissing just yet. Murasakibara squeeze her in a tight hug before letting go but only to take her hand in his as they made their way back to get permission to use the kitchen.

~!~

End of Chapter 17!

Alright! Clara is gonna get a try out for the girl's volleyball team! Their summer training camp is coming to an end but what awaits for everyone when they get back? Especially now that Clara and Murasakibara are an official item! Will a certain Green Hair teen find some way to pull the two apart or will he let them be?

Also! For those you would like to know, I recently started a new FanFiction, "Worth a Thousand Words." It is set in Haikyuu! and it's all about Bokuto and his relationship with Hiyori Miyoshi! Chapter two will be out some time before or early February!

Alright guys! I hope you have a good day and see you all in the next chapter! Bye Bye!


	18. ATTENTION: Update Announcement Chapter!

Hello my faithful readers!

~!~ New Update~!~

Hello everyone! It is October 21st and I am pleased to announce that I have finally updated both Chapter 15 & 16! The last portion of 15 has been re-written while Most of Chapter 16 has also been re-written. And I am very please how everything turned out! Murasakibara's and Clara's reaction feel more natural than the dream sequence that I had before, it was fun to write but after revisiting the chapter over and over again I came to dislike it. But I am now satisfied with this new confession and what lead up to it!

I hope you guys can stay a little more patient with me for the revisions of Chapter 17, I am currently working on it and hope to get it out soon aka another year... hahahaha... god I hope not, I am so sorry! V_V Because I also am not a fan of unfinished work! but again I am here to reassure you that I am still alive and kicking and getting this done!

Love ya'll have a good one! :D

~!~! Old Update~!~

I want to take this moment to **REASSURE** you that this FanFic will **CONTINUE** and it has not been forgotten!

The past year and four months I had many things happen, from family loss to job related issues and **Overwatch**... a lot and a lot of **Overwatch**... And also I keep going back to the chapters and readjusting or adding a few things here and there to make things flow more naturally and not make Clara a Mary-Sue, I despise Mary-Sue. Because as you have read Clara isn't perfect, she has worked hard in her ability to make good food and practiced hard to play volleyball.

I am going back to **adjust** _Chapters 16_ and _17_.

16 to me seemed she accepted her feelings for Murasakibara a little too fast, I kind of want to have her really dive deep in her hear to really bring out why she likes him. Murasakibara at the point knew he had feelings for her and with his personality he won't go after something unless he knew he wanted it badly, but that's me and how I interpret him.

17, you can blame this chapter really for making me taking a hiatus in writing on new chapters. The way that Clara interacted with the Three Bitchy girls on the bitch really SCREAMED at me with Mary-Sue alarms. So I am going back and re-writing that whole scene.

Now, I am sure ya'll are wondering about Chapter 18, YES there is an 18 and I have been writing it and getting it to flow with the rest of the chapters. A lot of Mura/Clara fluff for sure! So please be patient, and it will be released soon.

Once again, I want to take this moment to apologize for my absence and to say I am so thankful to those who have read this story and have continued to read it even after year of it being on Hiatus! Please I hope you continue to read my story and enjoy it like you always have!

CrazyBunni


End file.
